The Scholars Portal Dataverse is best repository that we have found so far for storing OLab zip files.

How to upload an OLab zip file

1. Login to your OLab server. (You will need author privileges.)
2. Create an Export zip file of your map – this will be saved in your Downloads folder on your laptop.
   1. For more information on how to create an Export zip, consult the User Guide for your OLab server.
3. Place a copy of this generic ReadMe file in your Downloads folder.
4. Compress this ReadMe file and your Export zip into a new zip file.
5. Login to the OLab Dataverse at Scholars Portal. (You will need author privileges.)
6. Create a new Dataset in the OLab Dataverse
7. We suggest you use the ‘OLab virtual scenario template’ because this contains a lot of the useful metadata already
8. The OLab Dataverse will tell you if you have missed any essential metadata. At a minimum you will need to add
   1. Title
   2. At least one author
   3. Description
      1. You can copy this from the Description given for the map on the OLab server
9. Down at the bottom of the Dataset page, you can upload a file. Choose the new zip file that you just created, that contains the ReadMe and the Export zip file.
10. You will note that the Dataverse automatically expands the zip file that you upload so that Dataverse subscribers can see both the ReadMe file and the Export zip file.
11. Save your Dataset. The OLab Dataverse will then give you a citation and DOI for your Dataset.
12. You can go back in and edit the metadata at this point if you wish.
13. When you are happy with the metadata, publish the Dataset. (It is not visible on Scholars Portal until you do this.)
14. Add the citation to your CV – this is now a citable publication.

Why use a Dataverse?

For several years, we have been trying to find a suitable repository in which to publish our maps and scenarios from OpenLabyrinth and OLab4. We have tried a number of these but have found them to be lacking in accessibility, quality of metadata, discoverability.

The Scholars Portal Dataverse has the following desirable aspects:

1. There is rich metadata associated with each dataset.
2. The files are stored on Canadian servers, which satisfies some grant and regulatory requirements.
3. The repository has powerful search functions.
4. The repository works with DataCite to provide full citations and a DOI for each dataset. This means that Datasets can be cited in your CV as a publication.
5. Associated files such as a ReadMe or instructor guides can easily be associated within the Dataset.
6. The Dataverse provides various tools to facilitate batch uploads. We hope to provide direct uploads from OLab4 to a Dataverse repository.