Depositing Data or Documents

VERSO Deposit Format Quick Reference

A quick guide to choosing open, preservation-friendly formats for your VERSO deposit

Quick Format Selection

Data Type Best Format Also Acceptable Avoid
Spreadsheets/Tables CSV, TSV, JSON ODS XLS, XLSX; include CSV version
Text Documents TXT (UTF-8), Markdown, PDF/A, HTML ODT, LaTeX DOC, DOCX; export to PDF/A
Images TIFF, PNG JPEG 2000, JPEG for derivatives GIF, proprietary RAW without TIFF
Geospatial (Vector) GeoJSON, Shapefile KML, GML Proprietary geodatabases
Geospatial (Raster) GeoTIFF, NetCDF — Proprietary formats
Audio WAV, FLAC, AIFF MP3 for access copies Proprietary formats
Video MP4, MKV Uncompressed AVI Heavily compressed proprietary
Code/Scripts Plain text: .py, .r, .m, etc. Jupyter notebooks, R Markdown Compiled binaries without source
Databases SQL dump, XML, JSON CSV + data dictionary .mdb, .accdb without export

Deposit Checklist

Before You Deposit

  • Have you converted proprietary formats to open equivalents?
  • Are all text files saved with UTF-8 encoding?
  • Have you checked that compressed formats (JPEG, MP3) are only used for derivative/access copies?
  • Are file and folder names descriptive and free of special characters?
  • Have you organized files logically (e.g., separate folders for data, code, documentation)?

Required Documentation

  • README file (TXT or Markdown) explaining:
    • What the dataset contains
    • File organization
    • Software requirements
    • Known limitations
  • Data dictionary or codebook (for tabular data) documenting:
    • Variable names and definitions
    • Units and measurement scales
    • Codes for categorical variables
    • Missing data indicators
  • Methodology documentation describing:
    • Data collection methods
    • Processing or analysis steps
    • Quality control procedures
  • Format documentation (for specialized formats):
    • Links to format specifications
    • Required software or tools
    • Version information

For Code and Software Deposits

  • Source code in plain text format
  • README with installation and usage instructions
  • List of dependencies with version numbers
  • Example data or test cases
  • License information, such as MIT, GPL, or Apache
  • Environment documentation, such as requirements.txt, environment.yml, etc.

Compression and Packaging

  • Multiple files packaged as ZIP or .tar.gz
  • README included at the root level of the archive
  • Already-compressed files (JPEG, MP3) not re-compressed

Common Format Conversions

From (Proprietary) To (Open Format) How
Excel .xls, .xlsx CSV File → Save As → CSV UTF-8
Export each sheet separately
Word .doc, .docx PDF/A or ODT File → Save As → PDF, select PDF/A
or Save As → OpenDocument Text
Photoshop .psd TIFF File → Export → Export As → TIFF
Use LZW compression, lossless
Access Database .mdb SQL or CSV Export each table to CSV
Include data dictionary explaining relationships
SPSS .sav CSV + codebook File → Export → CSV
Create codebook from variable view
Stata .dta CSV + codebook export delimited using filename.csv
Create codebook with variable labels

Format Selection Decision Tree

Ask yourself:

  1. Is there a discipline-specific standard for this data type?
    • Yes → Use that standard (e.g., NetCDF for climate data, FASTA for sequences)
    • No → Continue to question 2
  2. Can the data be represented in plain text or structured text?
    • Yes → Use CSV, JSON, XML, or TXT
    • No → Continue to question 3
  3. Is there an open standard for this file type?
    • Yes → Use the open standard (e.g., ODS instead of XLS)
    • No → Continue to question 4
  4. Must you use a proprietary format?
    • Include comprehensive documentation
    • Provide an open-format version if possible
    • Export key data to CSV or JSON

When in Doubt

If you’re uncertain about format choices for your deposit:

  • Check with your discipline. Look at established repositories in your field (e.g., GenBank, ICPSR, Dryad) to see what formats they accept.
  • Consult funder requirements. Many funders specify preferred formats in their data management policies.
  • Contact Data Services. We can help you identify appropriate formats, perform conversions, and create documentation. Email us at lib-verso@uidaho.edu or schedule a consultation.

Resources

Last updated: February 2026

Questions? Contact lib-verso@uidaho.edu