ETD Policies and Procedures at ARL Institutions

What electronic theses and dissertation (ETD) policies and procedures are in use in major North American research institutions?

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) currently has 123 member libraries in the US and Canada. Below is a list of Web sites at ARL institutions that provide significant information about these institutions’ ETD policies and procedures. Some of these Web pages are on the library’s Website; some are on other university components’ Websites. This list was complied by a quick look at ARL libraries’ home pages, supplemented by limited institution-specific Google searching. Since these Websites can be difficult to find, this is likely to be partial list of relevant Websites. Please leave information about other relevant Websites in comments.

3 thoughts on “ETD Policies and Procedures at ARL Institutions”

  2. Charles,

    I recently completed a preliminary study of American ARL universities that host their own ETD collections. (I did not include institutions which have a hosting arrangement with ProQuest). The paper is scheduled to be presented at ETD2005. The paper is still undergoing the final review process with the conference organizers, but as soon as it is formally accepted, I’ll archive it and make it available online.

    The universities that I evaluated are:

    Boston College
    Brigham Young University
    Case Western Reserve University
    Cornell University
    Florida State University Library
    George Washington University
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    Kent State University Libraries
    Louisiana State University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    North Carolina State University
    Northwestern University Library
    Ohio State University
    Ohio University
    Pennsylvania State University Libraries
    Texas A&M University Libraries
    Texas Tech University Libraries
    University of Cincinnati Libraries
    University of Florida
    University of Georgia
    University of Kentucky
    University of Missouri – Columbia
    University of Notre Dame
    University of Pittsburgh
    University of Tennessee – Knoxville
    University of Texas – Austin
    Vanderbilt University
    Virginia Tech

    Here is the title and abstract:

    “ETD Release Policies in American ARL Institutions: A Preliminary Study”

    ABSTRACT

    The advent of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) has improved access to graduate level research, but with these new opportunities come new challenges. Institutions that host ETD collections must develop release policies that meet the requirements of intellectual property law and balance the needs of multiple stakeholders. These include graduate students, faculty, universities, and commercial publishers. Despite functioning in similar legal and cultural environments, analysis reveals that institutions have implemented a diversity of release policies. This lack of consistency suggests a lack of information and lack of standards in the ETD community. An improved understanding of the issues and options can encourage a new culture of cooperation and help inform institutions that are planning or have implemented ETD programs. This paper provides a preliminary analysis of policies that are currently in place at American institutions that are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). The study was conducted by analyzing release policies that are posted on publicly accessible web sites.

    Brian

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