ETD Implementation
The Two Virginias and Their
Strategies for Successfully
Requiring the Electronic
Submission of Theses and
Dissertations
John H. Hagen, West Virginia University
Gail McMillan, Virginia Tech
What is the situation?
 Universities generate substantial basic and
applied research
 Documented in theses and dissertations
 Only some research revealed in scholarly
journal articles
 Traditional theses and dissertations unused
What is the long-term vision?
 ETDs are rich hypermedia works
 Graduate education more effective; and
students more productive
 Universities publish university research
 Faster and better knowledge and technology
transfer
What are we doing?
 Improving content and availability with
technology
 Educating future scholars to publish
effectively using digital libraries
 Helping students be more creative in their
scholarship
 Providing easy and widely available access
to information
78 NDLTD University Members
Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Australian National University
Baylor University
Biblioteca de Catalunya
Brigham Young University
California Institute of Technology
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chungnam National U., Dept of CS (S. Korea)
City University, London (UK)
Clemson University
College of William and Mary
Concordia University (Illinois)
Curtin University of Technology (Australia)
Darmstadt University of Technology
East Carolina University
East Tennesse State University
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
George Washington University
Gerhard Mercator Universitat Duisburg (Germany)
Griffith University (Australia)
Gyeongsang National University, Chinju (S. Korea)
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Marshall University
Miami University of Ohio
Michigan Tech
Nanyang Technological U.(Singapore)
National U. of Singapore (School of Computing)
Naval Postgraduate School
North Carolina State University
Pennsylvania State University
Rhodes University (South Africa)
Rochester Institute of Technology
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
St. Petersburg State Technical U. (Russia)
Universidad de las Américas Puebla (México)
Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain)
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Universitat d'Alacant
Universitat de Barcelona
Universitat de Girona
Universitat de Lleida
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Université Laval (Québec, Canada)
University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada)
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Maine
University of Melbourne (Australia)
University of New South Wales (Australia)
University of North Texas
University of Oklahoma
University of Pisa (Italy)
University of Queensland
University of South Florida
University of Sydney (Australia)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Tennessee, Memphis
University of Texas at Austin *
University of Virginia
University of Waterloo (Canada)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Tech
West Virginia University
Western Michigan University
Wilfrid Laurier University (Ontario, Canada)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
ETDs in the NDLTD
14 Air University
41 Australian DT Group
2 Concordia University
50 Dissertationen (German)
4032 MIT (scanning project)
87 North Carolina St. U.
10 Pennsylvania St. U.
24 Rhodes U. (South Africa)
57 University of Florida
8 University of Maine
200 U. of North Texas
9 U. of Tennessee, Memphis
3 U. of Texas, Austin
17 U. of Virginia
23 U. of Waterloo
2360 Virginia Tech
485 West Virginia U.
33 Worcester Poly.
T = 7455
ETD Implementation Tour
Virginia Tech
WVU
Support Elements Necessary for
Successful Implementation
• Top level administrators
• Graduate School
• University Library
• Faculty
• Students
How to Achieve Support
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Information technology implementation
Recruit implementation team
Develop networking
Educate
Promote and publicize
Engage discussion
Design careful planning
Build support infrastructure
Set reasonable timeline for implementation
Virginia Tech Team Collaboration
• Graduate School
• University Libraries
• ETD Task Force
• Faculty: Governance, VT Advisory
Committee
Status of ETDs at Virginia Tech:
Graduate School
 Jan. 1, 1997 began requiring ETDs
 Training workshops for graduate students
 Approval form for advisors and committees
 All ETDs reviewed by Graduate School
staff
VT ETD requirement: an
outcome of faculty governance
 DRSCAP
– Degree Requirements, Standards, Criteria, and
Academic Policies Committee
 CGS&P
– Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies
DRSCAP Concerns
 Allow voluntary submissions with
incentives prior to Jan. 1, 1997 requirement
 Establish university oversight committee
 Publicize the requirement widely
 Avoid significant burdens on departments
Other faculty concerns
 Participation in decision-making lacking
 Notification of requirement not broad
enough
 Harmful to future scholars
Status of ETDs at Virginia Tech:
Library
 Students submit via Web; Graduate School approves
 Held in secure directory if unavailable for
patent/proprietary reasons
 Immediately available to university or world on Web
 Available through online library catalogs within 1-2
weeks
 Accessible by author or department and searchable
using UltraSeek (OpenText, freeWAIS)
 Submission software: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ETD-db/
WVU Team Collaboration
• Office of the Provost
• Office of Graduate Education (decentralized
•
•
•
•
•
graduate programs)
ETD Task Force
Academic Computing
University Libraries (Library ETD
Implementation Team)
Faculty Senate, Council of Deans
OIT Advisory Committee
WVU Paper T Ds Accessed: 1998-99
81 3
10 00
Num ber of
Acc esse s
50 0
0
WVU ETD Monthy Accesses
5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Ja nuar Feb rua
March
y
ry
0
199 8
199 9 140 9
0
177 5
0
169 5
Apri l
May
Ju ne
Ju ly
Aug ust
Septe
mbe r
0
363 9
0
582 6
9
546
0
0
466
0
899
148
Octo b Novem Dece m
er
ber
ber
804
298 8
370 7
258 4
472 8
416 0
WVU ETDs Accessed 1998-1999
30000
20000
24770
10000
0
10613
1998 1 1999
T otal WVU ET Ds Accessed:
1998 - Present
40 000
30 000
20 000
10 000
0
37 864
Yearly Access to VT ETDs
1,090,113
1200000
1000000
532,093
800000
600000
211,698
1999
400000
1998
200000
1997
0
T otal WVU ETDs as of March 2000
484
600
400
200
0
WVU ETDs Searched
18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
1998
1999
Within WVU
338
3124
Outside of WVU
538
15457
WVU ETDs Browsed
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1998
1999
Within WVU
1484
1974
Outside of WVU
1448
2849
ETD Usage at Virginia Tech
Total requests
Daily requests
ETD requests
Abstract req.
Hosts served
1996
37,171
102
4,600
25,829
9, 015
1997
220,752
586
74,028
109,420
22,885
1998
532,093
1,457
300,673
210,833
35,593
1999
1,090,113
3,016
671,981
217,796
77,062
WVU ETD Web Distribution Type:
1998-1999
Patent
3%
CampusOnly
41%
World
56%
Web Distribution of WVU ETDs:
1999-2000
CampusEncrypted
3%
CampusOnly
42%
Patent
2%
World
53%
VT ETDs: AVAILABILITY
Universityonly
25%
Unrestricted
53%
Withheld
19%
Mixed access
3%
WVU ETD Format T ypes
pdf
98.97%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
pdf & jpeg
.41%
pdf & html
.21%
pdf & RA
.21%
pdf & PP
.21%
WVU ET D Submissions
371
400
345
358
300
Theses
Dissertations
Totals
200
100
0
19971998
19981999
19992000
National Use of VT ETDs
.mil .org
2.9% 1.2% .gov
1.0%
.net
10.1%
.com
34.1%
.edu
50.7%
WVU ETD Most Accessed
2515
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Total
Maser / T echnology
Education
Costs and Benefits:
WVU and Virginia Tech
Collection Maintenance
• WVU Academic Computing
• Server and maintenance: (.3 fte; existing
personnel utilized) Dell 20 GB hard drive,
Windows NT OS, initial programming,
archiving routine
• VT Digital Library and Archives
• Server: Sun Enterprise 250, 384 Mb RAM,
running Solaris 2.7, 9 Gb; Apache Web server
Education: WVU
• WVU Workshops / Consultants:
• 1.0 FTE; rotates among 4 consultants existing
personnel utilized
• ETD Document Preparation and Conversion
• Many students need lack basic word processing and
multimedia skills
• ETD Program Overview and Submission Process
(University Libraries)
• Many students complained initially, now accepted and
exploring new formats
• Web Information Page Accesses
Virginia Tech
Digital Library and Archives
• Supporting ETDs at a Typical University
Library
• http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/data/setup.html
• Staffing
• Programmer, student, faculty liaison
• Software
• Free or home-grown and free to NDLTD
• Get details at Tony Atkins’ session tomorrow
WVU Libraries / Technical
Services Division
• Submissions
• 1.0 fte; existing personnel utilized): Technical
Consultant and occasional backup (equivalent to
submission & review by graduate school)
• Cataloging
• 1.5 fte; existing personnel utilized:
• Cataloging Librarian, Library Technical Assistant
• Cost reductions for binding, handling, etc: $6.00/
dissertation unit; Library formally subsidized ½ of cost;
current savings of at least $1,000 annually. Handling:
no book processing required (labor intensive)
ETD Cost Savings: Virginia Tech
 3000 paper copies/year no longer stored and
shipped from Graduate School to Library
 166 ft. shelf space per year in Library
– No binding, shelving, circulating, etc.
 No additional equipment or staff necessary
– $65,000US projected library start-up
costs: staff, equipment, software
Students
• WVU:
• Master’s Theses: $55.00 submission fee
(covers UMI submission and $10 archiving
fee); copyright fee of $45.00 is optional;
Doctoral Dissertation: $65.00 submission fee
(covers UMI submission and $10 archiving
fee); copyright fee of $45.00 is optional
Students
• Virginia Tech
• Master’s Theses: $20 archiving fee is required;
copyright fee of $45.00 is optional;
• Doctoral Dissertation: $65.00 submission fee
covers UMI submission; $20 archiving fee is
also required; copyright fee of $45.00 is
optional
Libraries / Public Services Division
WVU and VT
• Reference / Document Delivery:
• Existing personnel utilized; minimal impact;
required initial training, augmented use of
electronic delivery & copy services
Realities of Digital Publishing
• Student Publishing Concerns
• Dissent from History Department students
• How have publishers reacted to articles
from ETDs?
• University Tenure Systems and Digital
Publishing
• Is digital publishing being recognized for basis
of granting tenure and promotion to university
faculty?
Positive Outcomes from
Implementation
• WVU
• Heightened sense of awareness on campus of
the profound effects of information technology
• Rapid Technology Transfer:
• Transforming West Virginia’s economy
• Providing research access to the world
• Va Tech
• Heightened sense of awareness on campus of
the profound effects of information technology
NDLTD’s Role
• Provide Implementation Support
• Networking University Communities
• Federated Searching
• Consortium Research and Development:
Commitment to the Future
• What should its role be in the future?
Epilogue: the Continuing Dream
 Excerpt from “Changing Landscape”
ETD Web Resources
• Virginia Tech
• http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses
• http://etd.vt.edu
• http://www.ndltd.org
• West Virginia University
• http://www.wvu.edu/~thesis/
• http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/theses/index.htm
• http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/thesis.htm
ETD Contacts
 Gail McMillan,
Virginia Tech
gailmac@vt.edu
 John H. Hagen, West
Virginia University
Jhagen2@wvu.edu
Presented at the
Third International
Symposium on
Electronic Theses and
Dissertations
University of South
Florida
March 16, 2000