Penn State doctoral students are able to prepare and submit their dissertations in digital format via the Web making the documents accessible to researchers around the world. In September, the University launched an initiative known as electronic Theses and Dissertations (eTD) that enables graduate students to convert their dissertations into Web-based documents and submit them electronically. Using special software, students have the option to add sound, video, and image links to the dissertations, before uploading them to the Web. Faculty members, researchers, and potential employers will be able to view the Penn State dissertations from any location, by searching the University's eTD archives located at: http://www.etda.libraries.psu.edu/
According to Tom Peters, director for Library Initiatives at the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), Penn State is one of the first among the twelve CIC institutions to develop a university-wide eTD option--though others are planning to do this soon. "Penn State and Ohio State are launching full-scale eTD initiatives this fall," Peters noted, "and Michigan State and Iowa will offer the option by early next year."
A committee made up of representatives from the Graduate School, University Libraries, Library Computing Services (LCS), Center for Academic Computing (CAC), University Press, and Graduate Student Association worked together over the last two years to make the option available this fall. The Committee selected doctoral students to participate in a pilot study that commenced in the spring of 1999 and continued through this summer. As part of this pilot, the University installed an eTD server, created a Web site, and offered training and information sessions to students and faculty advisors. With the official launch of the initiative, doctoral students University-wide will be invited to submit an electronic dissertation (although the option of submitting paper copies will continue to be available).
"Many students say they see the World Wide Web as the future," said Thomas Minsker, a research assistant at the Center for Academic Computing who has been helping students learn to use the software. "We wanted to give them all the tools they would need to truly excel with this medium." Working with digital capabilities such as hyperlinks, video clips, three-dimensional images, as well as a whole spectrum of colors "enlivens the creation process for doctoral students--and makes reading more interesting for faculty members," he added.
Over 100 students volunteered to participate in the eTD pilot study, many reporting that their experiences have been positive and are leading to some unique opportunities.
Alan Bilansky, who expects to receive his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Democracy this fall, remarked, "I see doing this as an effective way to communicate with colleagues and potential employers. Instead of shipping-off my dissertation to them in the mail, I can just provide a Web address."
"Penn State is preparing its students for a future where success, in most likely all disciplines, will be incumbent upon knowing how to use multiple digital resources to communicate research and prepare publications," agrees Bonnie MacEwan, assistant dean for collections at the University Libraries. She's quick to point out, however, that in addition to meeting student needs, the University will also use the project to help advance its digital library technology interests--since the eTD database will provide a significant body of material that can be used to examine preservation and accessibility issues, and search strategies.
Toward this end, the new database will soon be linked to the University Libraries' on-line suite of digital services, LIAS on the Web, in addition to Penn State's eTD Web site. The database will also be joined to the electronic archives catalogued by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), an international federation of universities and institutions founded by Virginia Tech, that is currently leading the eTD movement.
Today's eTD initiatives are revolutionizing access to graduate work, according to the NDLTD, whose membership has more than quadrupled since 1997. A statistical report at the organization's Web site observes that one particular Virginia Tech dissertation was accessed more than 75,000 times in 1998 alone (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/). The report further states that many other digital dissertations have received thousands of "hits" per year and numerous countries from around the world regularly access the NDLTD archives.
Some challenges remain, however. eTD files are primarily created in a Web convertible format known as PDF (Portable Document Format). The format makes it possible to quickly transfer files to UMI Dissertation Services, a Web-based service of Bell & Howell Information and Learning that currently serves as the national archive and distribution point for dissertations. UMI has recently requested that all of its university clients use the PDF format. Yet, some students and faculty members have expressed concerns about what will happen to the eTD files as technology changes. In addition, copyright has become an increasingly important issue, since certain publishers won't reprint information that has appeared on the World Wide Web.
To address these concerns, "Penn State, UMI Dissertation Services, and other participating institutions are making a strong commitment to keeping the dissertations accessible as technology undergoes change," said Lynne Goodstein, who served as associate dean of the Graduate School while the project was taking shape. "We have also made it possible for students to set up specific restriction levels to address copyright issues." The University currently offers three levels of restriction (open access, Penn State accessible, and total restricted access) that can be changed according to the student's publishing needs.
Resolving these issues will help facilitate expansion efforts already in the works for the initiative, since immediate goals include giving students the option to turn in electronic masters and honors theses.
"Being comfortable with electronic publication will be an asset for any student," added Goodstein. "These individuals will be leaving the University with a skill greatly valued by employers and scholars alike."
For more information, visit the eTD Web site at: http://www.etd.psu.edu/ or send e-mail to gradthesis@psu.edu.