[Metadatalibrarians] platforms for ETDs

[Cheryl Walters]

At Utah State University, we just started our requiring that students submit their theses and dissertations electronically as of March 2008.  Currently we are uploading them into CONTENTdm after the student has submitted the ETD to ProQuest via our customized Proquest submission interface.  The Library also keeps an archival print copy which the student is required to bring to the Library.  Here is the basic workflow:

Here is what the student does:
(1) Makes as print copies of thesis (required copies plus however many personal copies he/she wants)
(2) Submits pdf copy of thesis to Proquest at http://dissertations.umi.com/usu
(3) Fills out an ETD approval form available at our ETD homepage http://library.usu.edu/etd/
(4) Brings print copies (see no. 1), approval form (see no. 3), and a binding fees card to the Library Journals Desk and pays his or her binding fees.

Here is what the Library does:
Our Digital Initiatives staff is notified by the Journals Desk that the ETD has been processed.
Digital Initiatives downloads the PDF from ProQuest and uploads it to CONTENTdm with skeletal metadata.
A cataloger is notified that ETD is ready for cataloging and creates a MARC record for the online catalog plus finishes the CONTENTdm metadata record.

This new program has been implemented very smoothly.  We are testing dSpace as possible IR software and may be using that platform in the future for ETDs as well, but right now CONTENTdm is serving us just fine.


On 8/15/08 12:57 PM, "Andrew Rouner" <andrew.rouner at gmail.com> wrote:

Greetings!
At the Washington University Libraries (St.L.) were are (finally) planning
to transition to receiving dissertations and theses exclusively in
electronic format, and we're starting to look at platforms for delivering
them.  I'm obviously only at the very beginning of looking into this, and
we're looking at the usual suspects (DSpace and FEDORA).  I'd be really
interested to hear back from anyone on the list who has an ETD collection
and can provide feedback on:

   - what platform you're using
   - what additional software you're running on top of the platform for this
   purpose
   - if you're satisfied with what you have now
   - if you have any good resource pages to point to for evaluating
   platforms, best practices etc.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

Andrew Rouner
Director of the Digital Library
Washington University Libraries
Campus Box 1061
1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4862

EMAIL:  arouner at wustl.edu
WWW:    http://digital.wustl.edu/
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