DISSERTATION COLLECTIONS DISSERTATION COLLECTIONS NETWORKED DIGITAL LIBRARY OF THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

Electronic Thesis and Dissertations (ETD) The concepts of ETD’s was first discussed in 1987 at Ann Arbor, Michigan The concepts of ETD’s was first discussed in 1987 at Ann Arbor, Michigan The first pilot project for ETD’s was in 1996 at Virginia Tech The first pilot project for ETD’s was in 1996 at Virginia Tech It has several working committees like: It has several working committees like: Statistics/Reporting, Statistics/Reporting, Standards and Preservation, Standards and Preservation, Publishing, Publishing, Training, Training, Standards Standards

Objectives of NDLTD To improve graduate education by allowing students to produce electronic documents, use digital libraries, and understand issues in publishing To improve graduate education by allowing students to produce electronic documents, use digital libraries, and understand issues in publishing To increase the availability of student research for scholars and to preserve it electronically To increase the availability of student research for scholars and to preserve it electronically To lower the cost of submitting and handling theses and dissertations To lower the cost of submitting and handling theses and dissertations To empower students to convey a richer message through the use of multimedia and hypermedia technologies To empower students to convey a richer message through the use of multimedia and hypermedia technologies To empower universities to unlock their information resources To empower universities to unlock their information resources To advance digital library technology To advance digital library technology

It’s FLEXIBLE Users can join individually and develop a member site, with the help of NDLTD Users can join individually and develop a member site, with the help of NDLTD Users can make existing catalogs accessible to search engines Users can make existing catalogs accessible to search engines Sign up as an expert Sign up as an expert Contribute to list Contribute to list

It’s RELIABLE It has several different ways to search many databases It has several different ways to search many databases It has 145 member collections, 127 University collections and 18 Institutions It has 145 member collections, 127 University collections and 18 Institutions

It’s SCALABLE It allows for easy adding of more collections It allows for easy adding of more collections It’s teaching students to submit ETD’s in their own institutions It’s teaching students to submit ETD’s in their own institutions It’s growing constantly because of the increased awareness of digital libraries and advancements in technology It’s growing constantly because of the increased awareness of digital libraries and advancements in technology

It’s EFFICIENT Contains a very large number of resources Contains a very large number of resources Conferences Conferences Community activities Community activities Research projects Research projects Help/Documentation Help/Documentation

STATISTICS (2001) Over 235,000 total accesses to West Virginia University ETDs since inception Over 235,000 total accesses to West Virginia University ETDs since inception Most popular ETD has been accessed over 13,000 times since January 2001 Most popular ETD has been accessed over 13,000 times since January 2001

THEY PROVIDE SUPPORT BY: Integrating ETD collections of member institutions Integrating ETD collections of member institutions Provide training materials for students and authors Provide training materials for students and authors Provide support software for submitting and accessing ETD’s Provide support software for submitting and accessing ETD’s Explain copyright and intellectual property issues Explain copyright and intellectual property issues Report of new technologies for DL and electronic publishing Report of new technologies for DL and electronic publishing Publish findings in CD-ROM and the web Publish findings in CD-ROM and the web

SO… Though it’s very simple it’s a very large and useful resource Though it’s very simple it’s a very large and useful resource It serves as an example of a Collection of Collections It serves as an example of a Collection of Collections These websites serve as an organized collection of dissertations so that they are easier to find, collect and use These websites serve as an organized collection of dissertations so that they are easier to find, collect and use They give faster and easier worldwide access and iterest of the students’ works They give faster and easier worldwide access and iterest of the students’ works