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| Fall 2001 Issue |
Electronic Posting Promotes ResearchWVU crossed a milestone in August as its Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) collection surpassed 1,000 documents. The University made history in 1998 when it became the second school in the world to require students to submit their theses and dissertations digitally. A number of colleges and universities have since followed. "WVU serves as an example to other universities and colleges in electronic theses and dissertations," said Ruth Nellis, chair of the task force that helped shape WVU's ETDs policy. She considers one of the greatest benefits of the requirement is the boost it provides to researchers by increasing access to their materials. "Dissertations and theses offer a vast wealth of knowledge, which up until now has been under utilized," Nellis said. "Due to the less than ideal means of access and distribution usage was limited for this material type." It is important that cutting edge research is shared and peer reviewed. The ETD format allows for this process to happen quickly and efficiently. Nellis credits an ETD for connecting a student in the University's Department of Geology and Geography with interested readers in Australia, which has led to an e-mail discussion of his work. The Australian researchers learned about the WVU student's efforts through his online thesis. As stated by his faculty advisor, "Clearly no other publication format would lead to such a timely and international response. I think this new format dramatically enhances the profile and relevance of the thesis document." Libraries are now taking an active role in improving access to databases of many types, including the ETD database. John Hagen, WVU Libraries technical consultant, helps students get their work online, reviews their submissions for final approval, and analyzes trends of the website's traffic. He calculates that ETDs are accessed 5,000 times more often than print. During the year prior to going online, printed theses and dissertations were only borrowed 813 times. But after the first year of implementation, people from all over the world downloaded ETDs 43,540 times, cumulatively over a quarter of a million times to date. In fact, since January 2001, one dissertation has attracted more than 13,000 hits. "The ETD program is proving to be a highly effective research marketing
tool for students, faculty and the institution," said Hagen. "By
engaging in electronic scholarly publishing endeavors, WVU is experiencing
the profound effects of information technology. The rapid transfer of
culture and technology is transforming West Virginia's economy by providing
research access to the world." |
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Ex Libris is published quarterly by the WVU Libraries |
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