ETD 2004 Presentation Abstracts (fifth set)
Title: Building a National Networked
ETD Digital Library in Brazil: A collaborative Project Involving Government
and Universities
Authors: Silvia B Southwick , Ana M B Pavani
Abstract:
This paper alludes to developments in the evolution of a government sponsored
electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) digital library (DL) project in Brazil.
It covers issues beginning with the project's inception in 2001 through the
present. The goal of the project has been in instituting a national networked
digital library of ETDs. The project represents a major step forward in the
accessibility of scholarly research literature, since prior ETD digital library
projects in Brazil had been isolated initiatives designed to serve the local
interests of individual universities. Notable efforts in this regard included
systems built by the Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal
de Santa Catarina and Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro.
These initiative which began as early as 1995 adopted ETD technologies and metadata
standards that were independent of other projects in Brazil or in the international
community.
Recognizing the capabilities of contemporary networked computing, along with initiatives undertaken in the international community, a government sponsored proposal was written in 2002 with the goals of: (1) establishing a Brazilian national metadata standard for ETD; (2) designing and implementing a national ETD-DL architecture to promote integration of local, national and international initiatives; and (3) developing and distributing a software toolkit with implementation and training modules for locally implemented ETD-DL systems. After receiving substantial funding from FINEP, a Brazilian government-funding agency, a project steering committee was created that included representatives of the three above-mentioned universities, the Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT), designated experts in the area, and various important government stakeholder agencies.
The project has been led by IBICT, a government agency chartered to assist in developing systems for the dissemination of scholarly work in Brazil. It has been necessary for IBICT to adopt various roles in the project. Some of these roles have to do with the development of ETD technologies. Others involve transferring these technologies to universities implementing ETD digital libraries as part of the national initiative. These roles will be addressed in the conference presentation along with a discussion of issues emerging within the universities as they adapt existing processes to the new system.
The presentation will also address recent developments in the project. Four pilot-projects were implemented by April-May of 2003. A national call inviting universities in Brazil to participate in the project was made near the end of last year. To date, approximately 50 universities have received software and training for implementing an ETD system. The project has also reached other universities in other countries in Latin America. Supported by UNESCO three universities from Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay started pilot-projects using the technology supplied by IBICT.
Title:ResearchBlog at The ETD Guide:
Creating a Community for Academic
Authors: Joseph Moxley, Anne K. Jones
Abstract:
We have created a multi-user blogging space to foster collaboration between
academic communities and between students writing theses and dissertations committee
members: http://researchblog.org. Blogs
are frequently updated pages that allow for the creation of a more direct and
personal online, written voice. Already, many innovative graduate students blog
their research ideas in order to gain feedback and to network with other academics
all over the world. Phdweblogs.net is an initiative to bring together PhD students'
weblogs from all around the world facilitating online networking and researching.
Researchblog is structured similarly to writingblog.org-another blog we maintain
that has 500+ users. Individuals maintain blogs and then these daily entries
are posted within the individual's blog, but also the most recent entries from
each blog are posted to a central page. This enables the bloggers at etdguide.org
to see the thoughts of the different writers all blogging at etdguide.org, combining
features of the discussion board with features of the blog. Unlike other research
blogging sites like phdweblogs.net, the blogging space at etdguide.org will
connect students writing ETDs with the professors that chair ETDs and librarians
with both the writers and the committees creating ETDs. This blog will allow
for the questioning of the direction of ETDs by those who are stakeholders in
ETDs. It will also introduce ETDs to the larger electronic audience and provide
a unique opportunity for the study of the ETD process, and it will bring users
to The ETD Guide. Research bloggers at other sites will also be able to submit
their blogs via .rss feed.
Title:ETD Initiatives in Zimbabwe
and beyond 2004
Authors: Mbarbar Phadden Munyoro
Abstract:
Introduction
Since ETD 2003 there has been a lot of talk about the initiatives in and around the country though very little interest was generated from the various colleagues within the field of librarianship in Zimbabwe. Indeed Zimbabwe lags behind in terms of Information Technology but nevertheless. Most librarians in Zimbabwe are computer literate and as a result the teaching of information literacy skills in libraries has increased at a tremendous pace. It still remains a mystery why there has not been much interest in other Universities apart from the University of Zimbabwe.
The national Initiatives
The national initiatives in Zimbabwe are really a mammoth task due to various other issues from several corners that are causing the lack of attention in the particular area. The main cause really, being the lack of Interest as well as the lack of equipment despite the fact that most staff are computer literate. The University of Zimbabwe is the Only Library in the country that has made significant strides in that area. Most Universities have been born from the University of Zimbabwe may be that could be the main reason why all the other Universities would want to watch the developments from afar off.
Efforts to Market ETDS
ETD 2003 in Berlin left me in all the pressure to try and convince and educate fellow librarians about the importance of ETDs. A number of emails were sent to all most all the librarians in the country. The response though satisfactory but it was not as expected. University of Education Science and Technology Librarians showed a lot of Interest in the programme and I hope they will do their best to join as well as encourage their staff members and students in particular about the entire project.
Universities and ETDS in Zimbabwe
It will take a bit of time for the librarians to respond positively to the idea of ETDs. The main reason being that the Zimbabweans have other things they are focussing on like the ecomonic problems that have bedeviled the country and in addition the drought that has ravaged the state. Concentration is just on providing the traditional service as opposed to finding ways of improving the service. Working moral is at its lowest due the economic hardships the country is facing today. Solusi University will be the next base in Zimbabwe because that is where I am now working and I am going to make sure we embark on the programme after serving the University of Zimbabwe for 18 years.
Conclusion
Basically the situation remains in the intensive care unit, it requires a much attention and financial assistance. The whole idea is to educate the librarians and the academics that will in turn sent the message to the students. It is my prayer that the economic situation will improve and that all staff in various circles that are stake holders will feel motivated to do something about it otherwise the programme remains to be the bay for the University of Zimbabwe which is currently running the Datad project which is the Data Base of African Thesis and Dissertation.
Title: Case Study: Electronic Publishing
Support Service at UiB
Authors: Gaelle Bozec
Abstract:
The University of Bergen produces about 650 thesis a year. Bergen University
Library is responsible for implenting an Electronic Publishing Support Service.
Our main goal is to collect 100% of the theses in electronic format and offer
authors to publish online in addition. Since 2001, Bergen University Library
has collected daily statiatics about it's ETDs. This poster will try to sum
up the results and compared them to the statistics available for paper-based
theses. Electronic submission is not obligatory at UiB but over 20% of the students
have done it in 2003.
Title: Venezuelan Digital Library
of Thesis and Dissertation
Authors: Nilda F Rosales, Marlene T Bauste
Abstract:
Recently, electronic publications of theses and dissertations have reached worldwide
relevance. In Venezuela, a group of universities and research institutions,
aware of the importance of electronic publishing of academic production, created
the National Network of Digital Libraries for Electronic Theses. This agreement
was initiated in October 2003 grouping five universities and one research institution.
Later, in November 2003 eleven (11) academic institutions finally signed the
agreement during a special meeting organized for that purpose. During this event,
different tasks were assigned by the Venezuelan Association of Public and Academic
Libraries (ANABISAI) to each signing member. In the first stage of joint work
we completed the following objectives:
Currently, the National Digital Library for Electronic Theses (the publication’s model for local, national, and international integration) is being adapted and incorporated in each one of the universities and research institutes that signed the national agreement. The incorporation of the metadata’s national model and actual data is projected to begin in July 2004, and moreover, it is projected that all members have the entire incorporation of the RNM by march 2005.
Title: Long-term Access of Theses
and Dissertations: The SVEP Project in Sweden
Authors: Eva Müller
Abstract:
The SVEP project, funded by the Swedish Royal Library’s department for
National Coordination and Development (BIBSAM), has as its overall mission the
coordination of academic electronic publishing in Sweden.
One of the goals of the project is the development and practical implementation of a generalized archiving workflow between a local repository and a national archive. In doing this, we will attempt to accommodate the variety of publishing platforms and systems currently used by Swedish universities. This new workflow will be based on the use of URN:NBN as an unique identifier. We will also develop a basic technical infrastructure to support the transmission of dissemination and submission information packages (DIP/SIP in OAIS parlance) between university repositories and the National Library Archive.
A primary objective of SVEP is to ensure long-term access to theses and dissertations produced at Swedish universities. Therefore, we will also attempt to determine the minimum level of preservation metadata required to support archiving and subsequent discovery of these documents.
Because the DiVA Project has already produced systems to support some of these activities, these solutions will be used as a starting point for the project. Considering the lack of practical implementations of solutions supporting long-term preservation and access within the library community, we believe the results of this project will be broadly useful.
Title: ETDs FOREVER! Pragmatic
Preservation from Philosophy to Technology
Authors: Gail McMillan
Abstract:
Keep alive, intact, safe from injury and harm; save from decomposition—these
are standard definitions of PRESERVATION but not necessarily standard practices
with ETDs. A panel of thinkers and doers from academia and business will address
long-term preservation of graduate student research and scholarship.
Title: ETDs - Cooperation within three Nordic
countries
Authors: Marianne Moe, Eva Müller
Abstract:
The DiVA –project (Academic Archive On-line) was initiated at Uppsala
University in Sweden. The DiVA-project has produced a system for submitting,
retrieving and archiving ETDs and reports. The DiVA-project has evolved from
being a project at one university to a joint project with partners from seven
universities in three different countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). Taking
part in a joint project offers several advantages both financially and when
it comes to implementation and further development.
Economic advantages: With partners from three different countries and seven universities, we are able to look for financial resources from a number of different sources (university and national sources).
It also offers possibilities to operate the system more economically, this because it is possible to host every single installation of DiVA on the same server within the co-operating network.
Development: Through this joint project we are able to pool our human resources and collaborate when it comes to system architecture, development, monitoring of standards and best practises etc. Different universities can take the main responsibility for different aspects of the further development of DiVA, thus creating a creative and highly qualified community of people interested in electronic publishing.
Implementation: The Nordic countries share a lot of similarities when it comes to the university system and how (especially) doctoral theses are being processed within the university libraries. The thesis has to be publicly available 2-4 weeks before an official defence of the thesis. It is also printed in a fairly large number of copies, which are distributed to other universities and colleges nationally and in other Nordic countries. The libraries at the different universities and colleges are also taking part in a system of inter-library loans.
A new partner in the DiVA-project will be able to take advantage of the other partner’s experiences concerning implementation DiVA. The different partners can exchange templates, courses, information about submitting theses etc. knowing that they will only have to make small changes in order to adapt the information for their own university.
Through the DiVA-project we are able to offer a large collection of theses and dissertations, thus reducing the need for inter-library loans and distribution of the paper copy to different institutions. This offers a cost-efficient way of handling theses and dissertations, and an improved service to those interested in borrowing one of these publications.
Title: Ph.Digital? Implications of
new media for the dissertation and the degree
Authors: Keith Morgan, Kelsey Libner
Abstract:
The first Ph.D.’s in the United States were granted at Yale in 1861. One,
fittingly entitled Ars Longa, Brevis Vita, was six pages long and written by
hand in Latin. From that small start, American universities standardized the
process of dissertation research to what has been often described as the pinnacle
of the U.S. educational system. Despite this success, beginning in the 1930s
there have been undercurrents of criticism about the direction of graduate education
in this country. In the past ten years, there has been renewed and concentrated
critical discussion of the purpose and outcomes of the Ph.D. program. The Carnegie
Foundation’s Initiative on the Doctorate, The Woodrow Wilson National
Fellowship Foundation’s Responsive Ph.D. Initiative, and the University
of Washington’s Re-envisioning the Ph.D. are but three examples. These
investigations show some similarities with earlier examinations (see Berelson,
1960, and Olson and Drew, 1998) but also take up some new themes. In a context
of technological change as well as re-examinations of the Ph.D. degree, this
paper will consider the pressures that technological change places on the form
and function of the dissertation. Our argument will be placed in the context
of the history of the dissertation, and the Ph.D. as a ritual with an important
social function.
Edminster and Moxley (2002) argue that new media can expand the representational limits of the dissertation. Building on their work, we will look more specifically at opportunities and challenges that new media forms present in selected disciplines: architecture, history, biology, and applied mathematics. As part of these scenarios, we will consider the evolution of the dissertation from paper, to an online analogue of paper, to hybrids of paper and new-media forms which could not truly “live” on paper.
Even as we explore new directions for the contents and form of dissertations, we recognize that these documents do not exist in a vacuum. We might think of them as ritual objects in a complex rite of passage -- the Ph.D. degree -- developed to anoint a kind of priesthood of scholars. They lie in a tight matrix of reciprocal relationships, academic standards, and perhaps even social norms. To change dissertation requirements or standards is to put pressure on that matrix. Therefore, change is likely to be a slow and difficult process.
We will go on to summarize discussions around re-envisioning the Ph.D. and, by extension, graduate education in the United States. As ETD programs are adopted more widely, we will argue that ETD planning should be responsive to this larger context.
The ETD community has made great strides in tackling the challenges of making dissertations electronic. Meanwhile, 142 years after the first dissertations were submitted in the United States, there is a rising tide of commentary and discussion about the appropriateness of the dissertation as we have known it. We see promising points of connection between these two communities and believe they would benefit from greater alignment of priorities.
References
Berelson, B. (1960). Graduate Education in the United States. New York: McGraw.
Edminster, J., & Moxley, J. (2002). Graduate education and the evolving
genre of electronic theses and dissertations. Computers and Composition, 19,
89-104.
Olson, G. A., & Drew, J. (1998, September). (Re)Reenvisioning the dissertation
in English studies. College English, 61(1), 56-66.
Title: Dissertation Archiving and
Access: A Case Study for Accessibility and Preservation
Authors: Gary Ives, Austin McLean
Abstract:
Many universities keep paper copies of dissertations, without reliable back-up.
Vulnerable to theft, fire and decay, they also take up valuable shelf space.
Dissertations may be held in several different media within an institution.
ProQuest is the designated “national repository” by the Library of Congress, who deems the ProQuest dissertations as a remotely held collection. The Library was interested in having their retrospective titles placed in this collection since microfilming and digitizing an institution’s dissertations and master’s theses are important ways to showcase its research and academic history, provide access for students and researchers from a single entry point and enhance the institution’s standing in the international academic arena.
In this paper librarian Gary Ives of Texas A&M University and Delphine Lewis/Austin McLean of ProQuest Information and Learning will discuss a case study for a comprehensive dissertation publishing program that focuses on both keeping the data archaically secure as well as increasing access via online distribution.
The paper will detail the library / institution partnership that involved a combination of new and existing services to provide a complete access and archive solution which involved Microfilming (including placing a “blip” on the film. This blip facilitates both the creation of film/fiche copies from the master negative as well as scanning of the microfilm by the SunRise scanners),, Material Preparation, Target Preparation, Microfilming and Inspection, Negative Storage, Publishing, Scanning (detailing the process by which microfilmed dissertations are loaded onto a SunRise Imaging Proscan 3 models, which are powered by a 300 MHz Pentium P3 processor, 128 MB of RAM, running from a Windows NT 4.0 operating system), Image Storage and Data Sampling / Migration and MARC Records creation.
Title: Incorporating ETD’s into
Institutional Repositories
Authors: Delphine S. Lewis
Abstract:
IRs provide the foundation for a new model of scholarly publishing that disintermediates
the traditional publishing paradigm by using the internet to disseminate research
created by an institution to other scholars around the world. The cost of publishing
the e-journal, paper, etc. is paid for either by the author or the institution
(traditionally the library.)
Libraries have been called IR’s “logical administrative” home, and as such librarians have taken an active role in many IR efforts to date. As libraries become involved in IRs, it falls to them to take on both the “preservation” and “archiving” function inherent to IRs.
University administrators, librarians and segments of the professorial academic community have championed IRs since the early 1990’s for several reasons:
Title: Avoiding the Digital Dark Age
with PDF & XML: How your institution can ensure access to digital theses
and dissertations and avoid technological obsolescence
Authors: Chuck Myers (Adobe Systems)
Abstract:
If you suddenly couldn’t access the building where your valuable research
data or study was kept, what would you do? In a paper-based world, archiving
graduate research meant storage of paper or microfilm. But what happens as more
and more theses and dissertations are created electronically? How do you preserve
valuable research in a consistent format? How do you keep the exact look and
feel of a document today, 30 or 300 years from today?
The lack of a recognized and accepted electronic standard for archiving theses and dissertations -- particularly as new generations of hardware and software make previous digital technology obsolete – could lead to the loss of significant amounts of valuable information. For example, over the past several decades, military files from the Vietnam War, records from the Viking Mars Mission, Census Bureau data and land use records have been lost due to the inability to read data formats and the deterioration of magnetic tapes used to store that data.
Archiving standards such as PDF/A and PDF/XML can ensure secure access to digital data across the enterprise and Internet. The speaker will discuss how graduate schools could use PDF/A and PDF/XML to archive and preserve their digital works enabling the fidelity of digital documents to be preserved for generations to come. He will examine how XML as a neutral format for creating Web, print, and wireless content can be formatted and presented as a PDF document. The session describes the new place of XML and Web standards for printable representation of dynamic text and graphics as well as static content. He will discuss how these standards are being developed under the publicly available and highly prevalent PDF standard, offering protection from technological obsolescence over the ages.
Attendees will learn about:
Title: Consortial ETDs: The View
From OhioLINK
Author: Thomas Dowling (OhioLINK)
Abstract:
The Ohio Library and Information Network hosts a statewide ETD Center with contributions
from ten Ohio universities, proving access to the full text of over 3000 ETDs.
Thomas Dowling will discuss the planning and development that went into creating
this resource, the advantages and challenges of managing ETDs in a multi-university
consortium, and the paths different universities have followed to become ETD
participants at OhioLINK. As OhioLINK begins work with other agencies on construction
of a statewide “institutional” repository, OhioLINK ETDs will have
an increasingly integral position in a set of services that serves both the
digital research publishing needs of Ohio universities and the traditional library
service needs of their researchers.
Title: ETD Rookies
Author: Suzie Allard, Tim Brace,
Ed Fox, John Hagen, Gail McMillan, Ana Pavani
Abstract:
The successful implementation of electronic thesis and dissertation programs
on campus can at first seem to be a daunting task. The Networked Digital Library
of Theses and Dissertations consortium will prove extremely helpful in assisting
you through this process. Armed with a team of experts, the “Rookies”
session will introduce you to concepts such as the myriad of free resources
available through the NDLTD, ETD implementation and political strategies, discussion
of various models of home grown ETD programs, pre-packaged programs such as
the ProQuest/BePress ETD submission model, the role of University libraries
in ETD program implementation and archiving, as well as the usefulness of and
approaches to consortia and networking to build ETD programs.