Description: This presentation discusses electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). Starting in 1999, UNT has required the submission of theses and dissertations in electronic format. As an early adopter of what was to become the electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) movement in higher education, UNT has encountered several challenges in the pursuit of providing greater public access to the scholarship conducted at the University. When first implemented, ETD files were housed on the UNT Academic Computing Services servers with the UNT Libraries only providing bibliographic access through the Libraries' online catalog. As time progressed it was recognized that the UNT Libraries should play a more active role in the long-term stewardship of these resources. Libraries are well suited for supporting ETD users by integrating ETDs into the existing digital resources. Because increased access to UNT scholarship is the goal of providing public access to this content, the UNT Libraries compile system-wide aggregated usage statistics for digital resources it manages. The UNT Digital Library is used by people in over 200 countries around the world. ETDs receive significant usage in the UNT Digital Library system, compared to teh overall percentage of digital objects. This presentation provides the UNT ETDs usage statistics and analyzes ...

Description: This poster displays information about digitization of theses and dissertations. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) play significant roles, not only as new forms of scholarly communication, but also as drivers for the development of institutional repositories and digital libraries in general. The University of North Texas (UNT) was among the early U.S. institutions that moved quickly and aggressively to implement an ETD program. In 1999, UNT required the submission of theses and dissertations in electronic format. The UNT Libraries have been playing an active role in supporting the UNT ETD program by integrating ETDs into the existing digital resources. ETDs receive significant usage in the UNT Digital Library system, compared to the overall percentage of digital objects.

Description: This is the presentation for the closing remarks at the Texas Electronic Theses and Dissertations (TxETD) Annual Conference. It discusses how ETDs and open access will revolutionize the academy.

Description: This poster discusses the Lifecycle Management of ETDs Project. Abstract: With most theses and dissertations now being created as digital products, lifecycle management of these valuable intellectual documents is an important new responsibility of academic libraries. But it is a responsibility that unfortunately not all libraries have the infrastructure or resources to support. The big question is: 'How will institutions address the entire lifecycle of ETDs, ensuring that the papers acquired from students today will be available to future researchers?' This two-year project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is a collaborative attempt to respond to this question. The authors will promote best curatorial practices to increase the capacity of academic libraries to reliably preserve ETDs by using a three-pronged approach: writing guidance documents, developing software tools, and creating educational materials. All of these resources will be available under an open access license at the conclusion of the project.