The journey to establishing an Electronic-Only theses policy: A case study of the University of Glasgow
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The journey to establishing an Electronic-Only theses policy: A case study of the University of Glasgow
The significance and value of doctoral theses as unique and distinct academic research records have long been well established and institutions have been intent on making these documents more widely available and open for valuable research purposes than traditional hardbound copies can allow. Technological advances have helped this shift but the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures put in place to reduce the spread of the virus, interrupted existing thesis submission workflows. These measures have forced academic institutions into a much quick adaptation to a new wholly digital environment, than perhaps was planned.\n\nAt University of Glasgow, we recognised that this was an opportunity for change while being aware that there are many challenges associated with electronic publishing of theses that need to be addressed. In early 2022 we began our journey to update our current hardcopy thesis deposit policy to one which reflects our successful shift to e-only theses and to consolidate the changes which COVID-19 required since March 2020.\n\nIn this talk, I shall give a brief overview of the issues and challenges facing the project team at the University of Glasgow, on our journey to the move from a hardcopy theses environment to a fully electronic one. These challenges relate to the entire lifecycle of electronic theses (e-theses): from approval and submission, to documentation, cataloguing, copyright and embargoes, access, and long-term preservation. I will consider some of the practical aspects that we have learnt and the stakeholders we have worked with. Finally, I will touch on some of the more philosophical questions that we have been engaged with.
2022