University of Waterloo electronic theses: issues and partnerships
| Date | 01 April 2006 |
| Pages | 183-196 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830610669565 |
| Published date | 01 April 2006 |
| Author | Christine Jewell,William Oldfield,Sharon Reeves |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES IN
CANADA
University of Waterloo electronic
theses: issues and partnerships
Christine Jewell and William Oldfield
University of Waterloo Library, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, and
Sharon Reeves
Library and Archives Canada, Theses Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues associated with open access (OA) to electronic
theses and dissertations (ETDs) and to describe the University of Waterloo E-thesis Project and its
partnerships with Theses Canada and the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
Design/methodology/approach – UW E-thesisProject decisions on issuesassociated with electronic
submissionand OA are presented.Partnershipswith Theses Canadaand the Networked DigitalLibrary of
Theses and Dissertations are describedand the goals and activities of these organizations are outlined.
Findings – Author-created metadata form the UW E-theses searchable database of records that link
to theses in full text. The metadata are OAI compliant and are harvested by Theses Canada and the
ETD Union Catalog. The E-theses Project supports authors’ rights while minimizing access
restrictions and encourages innovations while respecting the value of gradually evolving thesis
standards and traditions. The success of the UW E-thesis Project illustrates that progress can be made
toward the OA paradigm for theses and dissertations while upholding perennial values.
Collaborations with like-minded organizations support and advance these goals.
Originality/value – Academic librarians and graduate studies officers will find this e-thesis project
description and this discussion of issues relevant to planning and maintaining electronic thesis
submission and access systems at their own universities. The descriptions of the benefits of the
partnerships may prompt readers to make similar connections themselves.
Keywords Canada, Theses,Electronic document delivery, Digitallibraries
Paper type Case study
University of Waterloo e-thesis project: goals
The ideal of equitableaccess to information playsa pivotal role in the shaping of the goals
and missions of libraries around the world and is a principle that is fundamental to the
professionof librarianship.The vision of universal participationin the informationsociety
prompts librariansto take actions that optimize our ability to provide maximalaccess to
resources whileminimizing price and permission barriers.This paper describes a project
that originated with a goal to further this ideal and promote learning, teaching, and
research. The University of Waterloo Electronic Thesis Project[1] has evolved over a
number of years, working through issues and developing partnerships, to build an
electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) submission and access system that provides
unrestrictedweb access to a growing number of the university’s theses anddissertations.
Electronic information and the internet are potent tools for furthering the equitable
access ideal. In the earliest years of the internet’s development, scholars began realizing
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
University of
Waterloo
electronic theses
183
Received October 2005
Accepted March 2006
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 24 No. 2, 2006
pp. 183-196
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830610669565
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