Library:Circle/File Format Guidelines

cIRcle File Format Guidelines

Overview

All items submitted to cIRcle for archiving must be delivered to cIRcle in digital format.

cIRcle undertakes numerous digital preservation activities in order to provide long-term sustainability of content. Provision of digital files following the recommendations in these guidelines greatly facilitate these efforts.

Key Concept: Accessibility

Creating open access content extends beyond making something available outside of a paywall to addressing all forms of access barriers. As you develop materials or prepare to submit your work to cIRcle, we strongly recommend consulting the OER Accessibility Toolkit created by Open UBC to help ensure your materials are "usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations". The principles and instructions in the Toolkit can be applied to a host of content created across the spectrum of open scholarship whether it is destined for cIRcle or other dissemination platforms.

In each of the following file format sections, you'll also find select accessibility tips from the University of Washington's Accessible Technology page which provides extensive resources on creating accessible using programs such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

File Sizes

Please ensure each of your files are no larger than 2 GB in size. Please note that an item record can hold multiple files, with each file up to the size limit.

If your file(s) are larger than the size limit, we recommend contacting the cIRcle Office to discuss your options. You may also use one of the following methods to reduce the file size:

1. Split the file(s) into multiple parts, each no larger than the file size limit.
2. Reduce the file quality.
3. Submit your file(s) as a compressed ZIP file (see Other Files below).

The following external guides can help get you started on reducing your file size:

• VPL File Size Guide - provides a basic overview of file size including information on data compression
• Vimeo Blog - provides step-by-step instructions on how to compress video files

File Formats

File formats act as containers for digital content. Just as a song's audio information can be "held" in a cassette tape or CD, an .mp3 also holds audio and the information required to play it. And like cassette tapes or CDs, digital file formats face risks that can impair long term access to the content they hold.  The three main risks to digital file formats are 1) format obsolescence, 2) proliferation of formats, and 3) lack of format support.   

To address these risks, it is important to use file formats that are robust and well-supported. In this guide, cIRcle has identified file formats we have the most assurance we can support long-term. We have listed both preferred formats (formats that are currently well-supported for long-term access and preservation) and acceptable formats (formats we accept but are not as well-supported for long-term access and preservation). By providing your digital content to cIRcle in one of the preferred file formats, you are taking steps to ensure the long-term accessibility and preservation of your content.

Although cIRcle can technically accept all file formats, it is strongly recommended and important to submit files that are in one of the preferred file formats, in order to ensure long term accessibility and preservation of the content. This list is not exhaustive; please contact the cIRcle Office if you have any questions.

Text Files

cIRcle accepts text documents such as reports, articles, posters, and presentations amongst others.

The preferred formats for text documents uploaded to cIRcle are:

• .pdf
  • Generally, cIRcle does not accept secured (password protected) PDF files, due to access and preservation concerns. If you have questions, please contact the cIRcle Office.
• .txt

Acceptable text formats include:

• .doc/.docx
• .ppt/.pptx/.ppsx
• .xls/.xlsx

If your text file includes video and/or audio, please also provide a standalone copy of each embedded video and/or audio file. See accepted Video and Audio formats below.

To improve accessibility for your documents, consider the following: Create PDFs with Optical Character Recognition for screen readers. Incorporate text font and size (i.e. minimum 12pt) that is accessible to screen and text readers. Use style elements, such as headings and lists, to organize the structure of the document. Add labels and alternative text to any links, buttons, or images. Enable tags in your document's properties to give your document a logical reading order. Please see the University of Washington's Overview of Accessible Documents web page for more information.

Video Files

The preferred formats for video files uploaded to cIRcle are:

• .avi
• .mkv
• .mov
• .mp4/.m4v
• .mpg

Acceptable video formats include:

• .flv
• .webm
• .wmv

If your content is not transcoded to a web-ready format and is on DVD, we recommend using open source video transcoder programs such as Handbrake for conversion.

To improve accessibility for your videos, consider the following: Use captions or subtitles. Include a transcript with description. This is particularly important if the audio differs from what is presented on the screen. Use accessible colours and contrast. See this WebAIM page for more information about using colour contrasts. If using slides, keep them as simple as possible. Avoid large blocks of text and cluttering a page/slide with too much simultaneous content. Use text font and size that is accessible to screen and text readers. See WebAIM for more information about font techniques. Please see the University of Washington's Overview of Accessible Audio and Video web page for more information.

Audio Files

The preferred formats for audio files uploaded to cIRcle are:

• .ac3
• .aif/.aiff
• .mp3
• .wav
• .wma

Acceptable audio formats include:

• .m4a

When digitally encoding your audio files, please use a high quality (192kbps or higher) setting.

To improve accessibility for your audio files, consider the following: Include a transcript.

Image Files

The preferred formats for image files uploaded to cIRcle are:

• .bmp
• .jp2
• .jpg
• .png
• .tif/.tiff

Acceptable image formats include:

• .gif

Data Files

As described by UBC Library, “Research data is the data created or generated as part of a research project and exists in many formats including numeric data, text, transcripts, images, video and audio recordings.”

For best practices on how to format data files see the UBC Library Research Data Management website.

Other Files

Acceptable formats for other files uploaded to cIRcle include:

• .xml
• .zip
  • Recommended use of ZIP files is highly dependent on how the resource may be best presented to and accessed by users. Some considerations include (but are not limited to):
    • File number & organization: Large numbers of files and/or maintenance of a file directory structure may suit a ZIP.
    • Designed method of access: If a user is only meant to access specific target file(s), ZIP may not be well-suited, as a user needs to download the entire ZIP.
    • File format: Non-preferred file formats may be suited to a ZIP, given their lack of in-browser streaming ability and/or need for specialized software.
    • File size: Large files may need ZIP compression to reduce their size.
    • Accessibility: ZIP files can create accessibility barriers, especially for those using screen-readers.
  • If ZIP is well-suited for your resource, consider including a list of files in the non-ZIP file(s) and/or metadata, to provide transparency regarding ZIP contents and further insight to users.