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The JISC FAIR Programme and International E-theses Developments. Introduction. The FAIR Programme Background Projects The National Digital Library for Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) International e-theses developments. The FAIR Programme. Focus on Access to Institutional Resources
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The JISC FAIR Programme and InternationalE-theses Developments
Introduction • The FAIR Programme • Background • Projects • The National Digital Library for Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) • International e-theses developments
The FAIR Programme • Focus on Access to Institutional Resources • £2 million investment • 14 projects • August 2002 – October 2005 • FAIR Advisory Board (FAB!) • Community representation • http://www.jisc.ac.uk/programme_fair.html
FAIR Objectives • Investigate the deposit and disclosure of institutional assets • Increase understanding of processes • Technical • Organisational • Cultural • Contribute towards mechanisms and supporting services to allow the submission and sharing of content
The Open Archives Initiative • FAIR is inspired by the vision of the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) • Sharing digital resources based on a simple mechanism allowing metadata about those resources to be harvested into services • OAI has its roots in an effort to enhance access to e-print archives as a means of increasing the availability of scholarly communication. • Very applicable to e-theses
The FAIR Projects • The 14 projects are split into 3 clusters • e-prints and e-theses (eFAIR – 8 projects) • Museums and Images (4 projects) • Institutional Portals (2 projects) • Projects are lasting from 1 year to 3 years • Cover both HE and FE • Involve >40 institutions across the UK
FAIR Clusters • Museums and Images • Harvesting the FitzWilliam • Accessing the Virtual Museum • BioMed Image Archive • Hybrid Archives • Institutional Portals • PORTAL • FAIR Enough
E-prints • TARDis • Targeting Academic Research for Dissemination and disclosure • SHERPA • Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research, Preservation and Access • HaIRST • Harvesting Institutional Resources in Scotland Testbed • ePrints UK • RoMEO
E-theses • DAEDALUS • Data providers for Academic E-content and the Disclosure of Assets for Learning, Understanding and Scholarship • Thesis Alive! • Electronic Theses • British Library a key partner
The NDLTD • National Digital Library for Theses and Dissertations • Based at Virginia Tech University in the US • In existence since 1997 • Recently matured from loose Steering Committee to formal Board of Directors • Runs annual conference (’04 - Kentucky) • Tutorials and wide range of information and advice (http://www.ndltd.org) • International membership • 196 institutional members • Reasonable membership fee
NDLTD Objectives • To improve graduate education by allowing students to produce electronic documents, use digital libraries, and understand issues in publishing • To increase the availability of student research for scholars and to preserve it electronically • To lower the cost of submitting and handling theses and dissertations • To empower students to convey a richer message through the use of multimedia and hypermedia technologies • To empower universities to unlock their information resources • To advance digital library technology • NDLTD works closely with VTLS
NDLTD initiatives • Identifiers • unique identifiers for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) • Union Catalogue • Maintained by VTLS • Physical union catalogue • Test OAI-based union catalogue • Awards (for members only!) • Advocacy • International strategy
Working with the NDLTD • Five UK members of NDLTD • Robert Gordon University • University of Edinburgh • University of Glasgow • University of Nottingham • City University, London • JISC working with NDLTD • Share experience • Exchange ideas • Encourage participation
E-theses around the world • Europe • Germany (host of ETD 2003) • Portugal • South America • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Uruguay • Venezuela
E-theses around the world (2) • India (hosting ETD 2006) • Africa • Australia (hosting ETD 2005) • Australian Digital Theses Program (ADT) • Working with recently funded ARROW project on institutional repositories • Promoting ETDs in New Zealand and South-East Asia • UNESCO • Sponsor and assist ETD developments
Setting the Scene • Large international interest in e-theses • UK not alone! • Enthusiasm for sharing research outputs openly • E-theses offer great flexibility of content • Opportunity to contribute to worldwide e-theses network • FAIR Programme e-theses projects providing a way forward
Today • Proposing e-theses model for the UK • Placing e-theses in the wider research context • Partnership with the British Library • Need community input • Feedback • Discussion lists
Thank you Chris Awre FAIR Programme Manager c.awre@jisc.ac.uk