In order for your research findings to have the widest possible audience and impact, it is important to understand your rights as author and not assign those rights to a publisher by accepting an unduly restrictive, exclusive publication agreement.
Many scholarly publishers are now recognizing authors' needs to re-use of portions of their work, to distribute copies to their students, and to post the final version of the manuscript on a personal web site or in an institutional repository.
Retention of these privileges by the author can be negotiated during the manuscript submission process. Consult the SPARC Resources for Authors website or contact Megan Mitchell for more information.