Factors influencing the adoption and development of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Programs in university libraries

Factors influencing the adoption and development of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) Programs in university libraries

Jamal Alsalmi

This paper aims to establish the framework for understanding the positive and negative factors affecting the adoption and development of ETD programs with particular reference to the situation in the Arab Gulf States. The reviewed literature shows that several interrelated factors have been found to encourage the adoption and development of ETD programs in university libraries: the appreciation of the benefits of ETD programs, awareness of these programs, and effective promotional and advocacy work that lead to cultural changes related to views on ETD programs. With regard to the Arab Gulf States, even though there is a lack of available literature, it appears that university libraries have the required infrastructure for encouraging the adoption and development of ETD programs. On the other hand some factors have been found to discourage the adoption of ETD programs. These include: technological factors (software selection, preservation and archival issues, mediated or self-submission issues, scanning issues and institutional infrastructure), legal issues (intellectual property rights, plagiarism and prior publication issues), and other administrative issues. With regard to the Arab Gulf States, the available literature shows that there are some obstacles such as: absence of technological strategies, absence of a national strategic plan for an ETD network consortium, lack of theses and dissertations acquisition processes and policies, lack of experienced personnel and some technical issues. In conclusion, it seems that cultural issues are the most significant factors affecting the adoption and development of ETD programs.

2008