diff --git a/scipaperloader/models.py b/scipaperloader/models.py
index f373845..2e1def8 100644
--- a/scipaperloader/models.py
+++ b/scipaperloader/models.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from .db import db
 
-class Paper(db.Model):
+class PaperMetadata(db.Model):
     id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
     title = db.Column(db.Text)
     doi = db.Column(db.String, unique=True, index=True)
@@ -8,10 +8,12 @@ class Paper(db.Model):
     issn = db.Column(db.String(32))
     type = db.Column(db.String(50))
     language = db.Column(db.String(50))
-    published_date = db.Column(db.Date)  # or DateTime/String
+    published_online = db.Column(db.Date)  # or DateTime/String
     status = db.Column(db.String(10))    # 'Pending','Done','Failed'
     file_path = db.Column(db.Text)
     error_msg = db.Column(db.Text)
+    created_at = db.Column(db.DateTime, default=db.func.current_timestamp())
+    updated_at = db.Column(db.DateTime, default=db.func.current_timestamp(), onupdate=db.func.current_timestamp())
     # plus maybe timestamps for created/updated
     
 class ScheduleConfig(db.Model):
diff --git a/scipaperloader/scraper.py b/scipaperloader/scraper.py
index d953969..7e62501 100644
--- a/scipaperloader/scraper.py
+++ b/scipaperloader/scraper.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import time
 from .db import db
-from .models import Paper
+from .models import PaperMetadata
 
 def run_scraper():
     while True:
diff --git a/scipaperloader/templates/nav.html b/scipaperloader/templates/nav.html
index b8b6593..f1924c2 100644
--- a/scipaperloader/templates/nav.html
+++ b/scipaperloader/templates/nav.html
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
     <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent">
       <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0">
         <li class="nav-item">
-          <a class="nav-link" href="/import">Import CSV</a>
+          <a class="nav-link" href="/upload">Import CSV</a>
         </li>
         <li class="nav-item">
             <a class="nav-link" href="/papers">Papers</a>
diff --git a/scipaperloader/templates/upload.html b/scipaperloader/templates/upload.html
index e3c90e7..e83533b 100644
--- a/scipaperloader/templates/upload.html
+++ b/scipaperloader/templates/upload.html
@@ -2,5 +2,41 @@
 {% block content %}
 <h1>Welcome to SciPaperLoader</h1>
 <p>Your paper scraping tool is ready.</p>
-<a href="{{ url_for('main.upload') }}" class="btn btn-primary">Upload CSV</a>
-{% endblock %}
\ No newline at end of file
+
+<div class="alert alert-info">
+    <p><strong>Instructions:</strong> Please upload a CSV file containing academic paper metadata. The file must include the following columns:</p>
+    <ul>
+        <li><code>alternative_id</code> – an alternative title or abbreviation</li>
+        <li><code>journal</code> – the journal name</li>
+        <li><code>doi</code> – the digital object identifier</li>
+        <li><code>issn</code> – the ISSN of the journal</li>
+        <li><code>title</code> – the title of the paper</li>
+    </ul>
+    <p>The format of your CSV should resemble the response structure of the Crossref API's <code>/journals/{issn}/works</code> endpoint.</p>
+</div>
+
+<form method="POST" action="{{ url_for('main.upload') }}" enctype="multipart/form-data">
+    <div class="form-group">
+        <label for="file">Upload CSV File</label>
+        <input type="file" name="file" id="file" class="form-control" required>
+    </div>
+    <div class="form-group mt-3">
+        <label for="delimiter">Choose CSV Delimiter</label>
+        <select name="delimiter" id="delimiter" class="form-control">
+            <option value=",">Comma (,)</option>
+            <option value=";">Semicolon (;)</option>
+            <option value="\t">Tab (\\t)</option>
+            <option value="|">Pipe (|)</option>
+        </select>
+    </div>
+    <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary mt-3">Upload</button>
+</form>
+
+{% if error %}
+    <div class="alert alert-danger mt-3">{{ error }}</div>
+{% endif %}
+
+{% if success %}
+    <div class="alert alert-success mt-3">{{ success }}</div>
+{% endif %}
+{% endblock %}
diff --git a/scipaperloader/views.py b/scipaperloader/views.py
index 964dd52..5fcc419 100644
--- a/scipaperloader/views.py
+++ b/scipaperloader/views.py
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 from flask import Blueprint, render_template, current_app, request, flash, redirect, url_for
-from .models import ScheduleConfig, VolumeConfig
+from .models import ScheduleConfig, VolumeConfig, PaperMetadata
 from .db import db
+import pandas as pd
+from io import StringIO
+import codecs
 
 bp = Blueprint('main', __name__)
 
@@ -9,13 +12,63 @@ bp = Blueprint('main', __name__)
 def index():
     return render_template("index.html")
 
+REQUIRED_COLUMNS = {"alternative_id", "journal", "doi", "issn", "title"}
 
-@bp.route("/upload", methods=["GET", "POST"])
+
+@bp.route('/upload', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
 def upload():
-    if request.method == "POST":
-        # CSV upload logic here
-        pass
-    return render_template("upload.html")
+    if request.method == 'POST':
+        file = request.files.get('file')
+        delimiter = request.form.get('delimiter', ',')
+
+        if not file:
+            return render_template('upload.html', error="No file selected.")
+
+        try:
+            stream = codecs.iterdecode(file.stream, 'utf-8')
+            content = ''.join(stream)
+            df = pd.read_csv(StringIO(content), delimiter=delimiter)
+        except Exception as e:
+            return render_template('upload.html', error=f"Failed to read CSV file: {e}")
+
+        missing = REQUIRED_COLUMNS - set(df.columns)
+        if missing:
+            return render_template('upload.html', error=f"Missing required columns: {', '.join(missing)}")
+
+        # Optional: parse 'published_online' to date
+        def parse_date(val):
+            if pd.isna(val):
+                return None
+            try:
+                return pd.to_datetime(val).date()
+            except Exception:
+                return None
+
+        for _, row in df.iterrows():
+            metadata = PaperMetadata(
+                title=row['title'],
+                doi=row['doi'],
+                alt_id=row.get('alternative_id'),
+                issn=row['issn'],
+                type=row.get('type'),
+                language=row.get('language'),
+                published_online=parse_date(row.get('published_online')),
+                status=None,
+                file_path=None,
+                error_msg=None
+            )
+            db.session.add(metadata)
+
+        try:
+            db.session.commit()
+        except Exception as e:
+            db.session.rollback()
+            return render_template('upload.html', error=f"Failed to save data to database: {e}")
+
+        return render_template('upload.html', success="File uploaded and validated successfully!")
+
+    return render_template('upload.html')
+
 
 
 @bp.route("/papers")