Electronic theses: The story so far Theo Andrew Edinburgh University Library

Electronic theses:

The story so far

Theo Andrew

Edinburgh University Library

ETD?

• Electronic Thesis OR Dissertation

• Idea first openly discussed in 1987

• Initial pilot study in 1996

ETD!

• The ETD is similar to its paper predecessor, but..

• It provides a technologically advanced medium for expressing your ideas

Theses management at EUL

• EUL opted out of the British Theses Service in 1992

• ~ 600 PhD theses submitted a year

• Access to theses via:

- special collections reading room

- ILL request

Reading room statistics

ILL requests

• 2002- 155 estimates, 58 copies sent

• 2003 (to date) - 110 estimates, 47 copies sent

• High cost

- 300 pages £60 +VAT/P&P

- 300-600 pages £100 +VAT/P&P

…so why ETDs?

• current demand for access inhibited by physical restrictions and cost

• most theses are ‘born digital’• better presentation of research not available in paper

format (multimedia files, dynamic data presentation, programmes and code, hyperlinks)

• and in the longer term, less expense to authors and libraries? (less printing/binding/paper/cataloguing/ storage costs)

International ETD programmes

• NDLTD (Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations)

• 185 members worldwide

• To date 49 universities worldwide require electronic submission, but many more have or are acquiring ETD capability.

The UK and ETDs

• Reasons for sluggishness

• How we are tackling the problem

• What might work in the UK

• The Theses Alive! project

Why is the UK so slow?

ZZZZzzzzz

A centralised environment for distribution?

A distribution system that (sort of) works?

Tools which can’t be bettered?

Tools which can’t be bettered?

A fondness for hard copy?

A fondness for hard copy?

Heterogeneity?

The fact is, the UK is slow

• Non-assertive library-academic relationships

• Highly devolved structures in research universities

• Heterogeneous model of postgraduate administration

Are ETDs a solution in search of a problem?

• We cannot use the journals pricing crisis argument

• So if it ain’t broke …• Research value of theses not appreciated• Could publisher lag be partly to blame?• But in the digital age we are learning the

importance of impatience

And yet …

• 100% of recent and new theses are ETDs-in-waiting

• The demand is there– Much preferable to conventional interlibrary

loan– Visibility increases demand

• Theses authors want it

The proof?

But there is a fear of dragons

• Theses will be considered as ‘prior publication’ (‘Ingelfinger thinking’)

• Too risky

• “The valuable research will eventually be published anyway”

In other words …

• A combination of (understandable) academic self-interest and the relatively small size of the perceived problem is denying access to a rich world of research literature

• But the cavalry is here! (JISC FAIR, OAI-PMH, NDLTD)

How do we do it?• Make submission easy

– DSpace

• Make ETDs complementary– Don’t build a door with a brick wall behind it

• Permit restriction– Win/win

• Work community by community– Informatics first?

Theses Alive!

• lead site Edinburgh• pilot partners

– Cambridge, Cranfield, Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan

• funding: JISC (FAIR programme) and UoE

• duration: 2 years, November 2002 – October 2004

Broad aims

• to develop an infrastructure which enables e-theses to be ‘published’ on the web

• to produce a ‘checklist approach’ for universities to use as they develop e-theses capability

A solution at hand?

Why DSpace?

• Rich functionality (available or planned)

• Solution-efficiency (ETDs, eprints, learning objects)

• Standards-aware

• Digital preservation

• DSpace@Cambridge

• Support

Theses Alive!

• Pilot project

• Repository publication

• Source customisation for UK

• FAQ

• Technical and dialogue help

Conclusion: we need to show how …

• We contribute to the research corpus• And at the same time …• We provide research impact data to our

own institution• Requires a new role for the

Library/Information Services – not simply a replacement for traditional interlibrary loan

Thank You!

theo.andrew@ed.ac.uk

www.thesesalive.ac.uk