"

Copyright and Author Rights

Authors retain full copyright over their published content and have the right to post or distribute it elsewhere as they choose. When sharing or reproducing the content in other contexts, authors should attribute TAMU Libraries OpenEd as the original source (publisher) of publication.

For best practices, based on recommendations of Creative Commons, we recommend using the TASL format (Title, Author, Source, License) when attributing content, both for authors sharing their own work and for others citing it:

  • Title: Include the work’s title.
  • Author(s): Name the author(s) as indicated.
  • Source:
    • Name: List TAMU Libraries Open Digital Publishing as the original publisher.
    • Link: Provide a link to the resource.
  • License: Name the license under which the work has been published. You may also provide a link to the license.

This approach maintains author credit while ensuring transparency and consistency in attribution. Here is an example of a book published on the Platform:

Now that you have all the information you need, you can cite the work in your preferred citation format. Here are two examples:

APA 7th ed. 

MLA Style 9th ed.

Links, Citations, and Accessibility

In addition to providing clear attribution, authors should consider accessibility when including links. Accessibility guidelines such as WCAG 2.1 generally recommend using descriptive link text; however, citation styles like APA treat references as a special case. In these contexts, it is standard practice to include the full URL or DOI as part of the citation to support accurate retrieval of the source. Although these links are not descriptive on their own, they are considered accessible because the surrounding citation, such as the title, author, and source, provides sufficient context (see APA Guidance on Accessible URLs). For this reason, authors should follow the requirements of their chosen citation style for references, while continuing to use descriptive link text in all other contexts.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Open Digital Publishing Guidelines Copyright © 2025 by Seyed Abdollah Shahrokni and Jennifer Pate is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.