Possibilities of networked electronic theses in Japan
| Published date | 03 June 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2013-0095 |
| Date | 03 June 2014 |
| Pages | 375-386 |
| Author | Makoto Shuto,Takayuki Manaka,Satoshi Nakayama,Hideki Uchijima |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries |
Possibilities of networked
electronic theses in Japan
Makoto Shuto
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
Tokyo, Japan, and
Takayuki Manaka, Satoshi Nakayama and Hideki Uchijima
Library, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Japan
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paperis to investigate/explorethe possibilities of nationwidenetworked
electronic theses in Japan.
Design/methodology/approach – The main points of the revised degree regulations, the activities
of related organizations corresponding to the revised degree regulations, and the future direction of
networked electronic theses which can be realized due to the network of institutional repositories are
described and explained.
Findings – In Japan, following the revision of the degree regulations, nationwide electronic thesis
networks will be formed, which are rarely observed in other countries, and an infrastructure will be
constructed, by which institutional repositories in Jap an can be harvested by the Networked Digital
Library of Theses and Dissertations. A well-established community of institutional repositories has
enabled this achievement to take place.
Originality/value – Veryfew national laws and regulations oblige a p erson who has been conferred a
doctorate to publicize the thesis through the internet. There are only a few countries where the
standard for metadata was established and metadata harvesting using the Open Archives Initiative
Protocol for Metadata Harvesting is being performed, providing one-stop services through por tal sites.
Therefore, this case study on the possibilities of nationwide netwo rked electronic theses attributable
to policies and the innovations of the repository network in Japan can provide useful information
not only for persons in charge of digitizing dissertations but also for those concer ned about open
access generally.
Keywords Institutional repository, Degree regulations, Electronic thesis and dissertation,
Japanese Institutional Repositories online, junii2, Ministry of Education, Cultu re, Sports,
Science and Technology
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
In Japan, the system of granting degrees is gover ned by the degree regulations (the
Ordinance of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MEXT) No. 9) that were
established in 1953, following the 1947 enactment of the School Education Act.
Regarding degree awarding, universitylibraries are concerned with the preservation
and provision of doctoral theses for public consultation. The deg ree regulations before
April, 2013 stipulated that “a person who has been confer red a doctorate shall publicize
the entire thesis in the form of printing.” The printed doctoral thesis was generally
preserved in the library of the university that had awarded the doctorate and could be
read by users upon request. In accordance with the degree regulations, one copy of the
doctoral thesis was also sent, at its request, to the National Diet Library (NDL)[1],
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Received 18 September 2013
Accepted 5 October 2013
Library Management
Vol. 35 No.4/5, 2014
pp. 375-386
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-09-2013-0095
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 16th International Symposium on Electronic
Theses and Dissertations (ETD), in Hong Kong, on 23-26 September 2013, http://lib.hku.hk/etd2013/
375
Networked
electronic theses
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