The move to digital theses and dissertations greatly enhances
the accessibility and sharing of graduate student research, but
it also raises grave concerns about the potential ephemerality
of these digital resources. How can institutions best ensure
that the electronic theses and dissertations that they acquire
from students today will be available to both current and future
researchers?
This workshop will provide attendees with a foundation in ETD
lifecycle management, focusing on both workflow design and
technology approaches. It will also discuss the growing role of
international collaboration in the preservation of these digital
assets.
The instructors will address a range of topics including the
following:
1. Planning and implementing a sustainable ETD program
2. Copyright/fair use, access levels, and embargoes
3. Formats, complex objects, and format migration options
4. Metadata and Lifecycle event record-keeping
5. Distributed digital preservation and international
collaboration
Based on findings from a joint project between the NDLTD and the
MetaArchive Cooperative, this workshop will provide descriptions
of options, not proscriptions on action, and will help attendees
to think critically about how best to curate this genre of
content.
