"Long Term Open Access to Electronic PhD Theses" in the UK

Theses unbound: consultation on a national e-theses service for the UK, an announcement from JISC, July 17, 2006:

The UK currently lacks a coherent national service to support access to, and preservation of, electronic PhD theses. At present, PhD theses are discovered by potential users in a variety of more or less ad hoc ways, and delivered to those users largely by physical document delivery. It is widely recognised that PhD theses are an under-exploited research resource, and that when they are made available electronically, their use increases substantially.

JISC has funded an 18 month project, EThOS, whose aim is to deliver a fully operational, easily scaleable and financially viable prototype UK online electronic PhD theses service, and supporting infrastructure. JISC wishes to consult relevant stakeholders in the higher education community about their views on a range of issues relating to e-theses, and on the extent to which the EThOS model is a suitable basis for a sustainable, national service designed to ensure long term open access to electronic PhD theses.

Further information on the proposed model and a link to the survey can be found at: Consultation.

Source: P Suber Open Access News [FullText]