ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations Building an Institutional

ETDs: Electronic Theses and Dissertations Building an Institutional Asset Gail Mc. Millan Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

What is an ETD? Contemporary Turkish Coffeehouse Design Based on Historic Traditions Timur Oral MS, Interior Design, April 1997 College of Human Resources and Education, VT http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses/available/etd-2227102539751141/unrestricted/Ali_Pasa. QT

The Current Situation Basic and substantial applied research in U. S. takes place in universities n Primary sources for this research are theses and dissertations n A portion of valuable data and material published n Theses and dissertations relatively inaccessible and underutilized n

The Vision for ETDs n 400, 000 masters and Ph. D candidates annually exposed to e-publishing in US n Faster and better information transfer – Empower students to convey richer message through use of multimedia – Universities publish their scholarship n Improve graduate education through more effectively sharing information

Vision for ETDs: Library Goals n Improve services and resources n Reduce work n Save space and money

Library Responsibilities n Hardware: server – Maintenance and security – Started small: Ne. Xt 3. 3 (HP; 1989 -97) – Grew: Sun dual-processor Enterprise 250 (Solaris 2. 7; to date) n Software – Submission scripts – Email notifications: authors, advisors, UMI – Logs, surveys n Search Engine – Started small: free. WAIS – Grew: Info. Seek’s ULTRASEEK

Financial Concerns n At VT: start-up costs = $0 – On-hand staff, equipment, software, freeware n From zero base: estimate $65, 000 • $24, 000 STAFF (part time) • $36, 000 EQUIPMENT • $15, 000 SOFTWARE http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses/data/setup. html

From Authoring to Public Access through Library Services/Resources 1. Graduate student submits ETD – Directly to library server/permanent archive – Archiving fee replaces binding fee 2. Graduate School approves ETD – Automatic email notifications: author, faculty, UMI 3. ETD immediately accessible – Per author/advisor’s notification – Public has appropriate level of access – ETD database, library’s catalog, OCLC

Status of ETDs at Virginia Tech Partnership of the Library, Graduate School, Faculty n Approved through university governance (Mar. 1996) for full implementation Jan. 1997 n Web submission n – Students: http: //etd. vt. edu – Programmers: http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/ETD-db/) Workshops for students (and faculty) n Over 4, 107 ETDs approved n One of 125 universities, 18 associations in the NDLTD (Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations) n

Benefits: Increased Access n Low margin, high use – Incorporate ETDs with other digital library activities • Ejournals, online class materials, digital images, etc. • Additional equipment, staff may not be necessary – http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses/data/setup. html – Use VT programs, scripts, etc. • http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/ETD-db/ n Online vs. circulation of copies

Accesses to VT’s ETDs VT theses approved 1990 -1994, combined average circulation per copy: 2. 24/yr n VT dissertations approved 1990 -1994, combined average circulation per copy: 3. 2/yr n

Access to VT ETDs: USA 2001

International Access to VT ETDs

Why are ETDs so popular? Accessible n Alternative means of conveying information n Attractive as well as informative n – colorful images – movement and sound – display for on-screen viewing Expanded network of research colleagues n Surveys: authors, readers, alumni n

4107 VT ETDs What are Authors Making Available?

Challenges to Creating and Sustaining ETD Collections n Information n Access n Publishing n Copyright n Archiving literacy

Accessibility and ETDs n Inaccessible ETDs – Patents pending – Future publication fears n Broken links – Quality of work remains • Similar to out-of-print articles n Media standards

Publishing and ETDs n Authors – Retain some rights, e. g. , link to curriculum vitae, online course materials n Faculty: prior publication? – Protective of future academics n Surveys of publishers – No specific policies – Consider individually n VT ETD Alumni – No problems publishing

Copyright and ETDs n Author’s rights – Reproduction, modification, distribution, public performance, public display • Retain rights • Share non-exclusive rights – Permit library to store and to provide access – Publishers n Author’s obligations: fair use – Balance factors or get permission n Notification: optional Copyright 2002 by Gail Mc. Millan ALL RIGHTS RESERVED n Registration: optional – Possibly receive greater compensation, with less documentation if filing infringement law suit

Archiving and ETDs n Concerns: Access without paper – Long term preservation – Standard multimedia formats – http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses/archive. html n Addressed Concerns – Frequent, regular back-ups available on, off-site – PDF: an open source program – Cooperatives • Ohio. Link • Why not: OCLC, NDLTD? – Commercial options • UMI: traditional microfilming

Lessons from ETDs n Implementation of new formats slower than expected – Text oriented – Not planning for online readers n n Requiring institutions slower than expected If you build it, it will get used. – access exceeded expectations – disappointing number are inaccessible Remarkable increase in exposure to graduate student research n No longer experimental n – increase in number and diversity of NDLTD institutions

Available at Virginia Tech n Information http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses n Automated submission system ready for customization http: //scholar. lib. vt. edu/ETD-db/ n Student guidelines, training materials, FAQ's, multimedia educational materials http: //etd. vt. edu n NDLTD: Network educational institutions – Annual Conferences: Berlin 2003, U of Kentucky 2004 http: //www. ndltd. org

ETDs: Electronic Theses and Dissertations Building an Institutional Asset Gail Mc. Millan Digital Library and Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Tech gailmac@vt. edu