Who can see your I.S.?
That depends! The majority of I.S.'s in Open Works can only be downloaded with a Wooster name and password, but some I.S.'s, called "Exemplars," are Open Access, which means that they can be accessed and downloaded anywhere in the world! This can be incredibly useful for your professional identity after Wooster.
So how does one's I.S. become an exemplar? Every year, Wooster professors from all of the departments review the list of students who received Honors on their I.S.'s and select those few I.S.'s that are truly exemplary and that they feel represent some of the best work done here at the college. If your work is selected, Open Works administrators will contact you after you graduate and seek your permission to make your I.S. Open Access, so make sure to update your email address with the college after you graduate!
A map of some of the places people download and use Wooster students' work:
What if I don't want anyone to see my I.S.?
While we always recommend that you allow the College of Wooster community access to your work, you, as the copyright holder, have the right to embargo your work. When you request an embargo, your I.S. will be completely hidden from view, even to the College of Wooster community. Generally, embargoes last 1-5 years, though they may last longer.
Why might you choose to embargo your work?
1. If you are considering publishing your work and you want to ensure that no one else is able to capitalize on your idea or build on your research.
2. If you co-authored a work with a professor who is considering publishing their work
3. If you did research that contributed to the work of a professor, who might consider publishing on the topic in the future
4. If you are absolutely positive that you don't want anyone to see your work
In rare cases, departments on campus will choose to embargo all of their I.S.'s. If you would like more information about this or if you would like to learn more about this option, please contact Catie Newton, the Digital Curation Librarian and manager of Open Works at canewton@wooster.edu.