News
20 years of ETDs and NDLTD, Briefly
The NDLTD is based on a set of important ideas:
As a volunteer organization, NDLTD needs YOU! Please help by serving on a working group or committee, or by helping advance local or regional activities. The ETD initiative is based on simple ideas but calls for collaboration and concern for students and quality. It moves forward if we are open to innovation and change, which are essential ingredients of graduate research as well as scholarly communication. There are clear benefits of ETD events to those new to the ideas; problems can be discussed, questions answered, best practices identified, and tools/techniques shared. Likewise, there are benefits to those who have worked in this arena for years, in part from the satisfaction that comes from sharing and mentoring. Even more, those with experience can address new challenges, e.g., 1) as the numbers of ETDs (now over 5 million) lead to problems of scale, and 2) as the global harvesting method calls for improved attention at all levels to quality of metadata and services as well as standardization. Please help all colleges, universities, libraries, graduate students, faculty, administrators, and researchers to move toward the time when EVERY thesis or dissertation in the world is shared in the most effective way, as openly as possible, and utilized optimally to improve humanity. |
Jagdish Arora and Manoj Kumar win ETD Leadership Award
NDLTD is pleased to announce that Dr. jagdish Arora and Mr. Manoj Kumar won the ETD Leadership Award for their dedicated work on the Shodhganga thesis repository in India. Their joint analysis, planning, design and implementation of the repository began when there was hardly a digital or digitized thesis available in the area. The repository has since grown to immense proportions and is likely the largest such project in India, if not Asia. As the director of the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET - http://inflibnet.ac.in) in India Dr. Arora has contributed immensely to the promotion of open access and graduate scholarship there. Mr. Kumar as the director of the Shodhganga (http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in) repository has worked to promote the digital genre throughout the region.  Award Acceptance by Dr. Jagdish Arora: The genesis of ETDs in India, as it has evolved now, can be traced back to 2005 when Prof. Arun Nigavekar, the then Chairman of the UGC constituted a Committee to evolve a broad regulatory framework and guidelines for submission of electronic theses and dissertations into a central repository. As one of the active members of the Committee, I was given the responsibility for drafting the broader framework and guidelines. These guidelines could not be implemented at that time, however, these guidelines were published and circulated widely in print as well as through electronic media with a hope that it will catch attention of academic community and academic administrators in time to come and would see the day of light. Towing the line of action proposed in the framework that was developed in 2005, the INFLIBNET Centre, an Inter-university Centre of the UGC, proposed implementation of “Indian ETD” in its XI Plan Period Proposal submitted to the UGC in 2008. The proposal was repeatedly brought to the attention of Chairman, UGC and other functionaries of the UGC in the meetings of the Governing Body and Governing Council of the INFLIBNET Centre. Finally, the UGC Notification, 2009 that was published as a gazette notification provided for submission of electronic version of theses into the repository set-up by the INFLIBNET Centre within 30 days of their submission in physical format. It was decided to coin a unique and generic name to Indian ETD (iETD) which should be easy to pronounce and have greater pneumonic value. As such, “Shodhganga: A reservoir of Indian Theses” was chosen to replace Indian ETD (iETD). The word "Shodh" originates from Sanskrit and stands for research and discovery. The "Ganga" is the holiest, longest and largest of all rivers in India, named after the goddess Ganga, the daughter of the mountain god Himalaya. The Ganga is the symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, ever loved and revered by its people. "Shodhganga", a repository of theses and dissertations submitted to Indian universities, is expected to keep growing to a formidable size as more and more researchers submit their theses to this ever growing reservoir. Shodhganga Repository was set-up and launched in January 2010 by Prof. S K Thorat, the then Chairman, UGC, on 4 th December, 2010, within a period of 12 months, number of theses in the repository grew to more than 1,000. As on today, the repository has more than 1,55,000 theses from 283 universities and 309 universities have signed the MoU on Shodhganga with the INFLIBNET Centre. The phenomenal growth of Shodhganga Repository can largely be attributed to incentives that the UGC provides for signing MoU with INFLIBNET Centre on Shodhganga. These incentives are:
It is a pleasure and privilege for me to participate in ETD 2017 and address an august gathering consisting of stalwarts in ETDs from all over the world. NDLTD Leadership Award for the year 2017 being given to me and my colleague Mr. Manoj Kumar, is moral boaster for both of us as individuals as well as to the INFLIBNET Centre as an institution. We are indeed thankful to the NDLTD Award Committee for bestowing this prestigious award to both of us.  With great honour and privilege, I, Manoj Kumar K, Scientist-D(CS), INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, an IUC of University Grants Commission, Ministry of HRD, Govt of India, am pleased to accept the coveted NDLTD Leadership Award for the year 2017 along with Director, INFLIBNET Centre, Dr. Jagdish Arora. We would like to dedicate this award to the Indian research community and 300+ Indian Universities who have come forward to immensely contribute to Shodhganga which is a national repository of digital copies of Indian Theses (ETD). Shodhganga is a repository of Indian theses and dissertations set-up by the INFLIBNET Centre based on the UGC notification (Minimum Standards & Procedure for Award of M.Phil. / Ph.D Degree, Regulation, 2009). The repository provides a platform for research scholars to deposit their Ph.D. theses through online mode and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. Shodhganga has grown up as an important one stop repository for Indian researchers with open access to about 1,55,555 theses as on date. The theses can be browsed, viewed, searched, shared and downloaded free of cost without any registration. Under the project, 160 universities were getting access to an online plagiarism detection software Universities are provided access to plagiarism detection software as and when they sign MoU with INLFIBNET Centre. About 1,71,813 documents are submitted by these universities till 27.02.2017 and about 11778 research supervisors and Shodhganga Coordinators are using the URKUND ID for checking plagiarism. These IDs are created on the recommendation of the universities. The Centre also maintains a repository of research in progress called Shodhgangotri that hosts 3900+ synopses / approved research proposals submitted by 44 universities. While receiving the award, I am also getting an opportunity to present a paper on Shodhganga titled "Creation of Dynamic Ontologies for Graphical Representation in User Interface using NeOn in Shodhganga" and also a poster on analysis of Science and Technology theses in Shodhganga in the 20 th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations during August 7–9, 2017 in Washington, D.C which is hosted by George Mason University with additional support from the Washington Research Library Consortium and co-organized by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) and the United States Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Association (USETDA). The Award will help us in promoting the ETD repository to international level for sharing of Indian Research which will create more opportunities to researcher for effective collaboration with International experts. The excellent work done by NDLTD for promoting ETDs in the world is highly appreciated and expecting Shodhganga will be part of NDLTD repository soon. I personally thank NDLTD for providing travel grant to attend the Symposiums in University of Lille, France and Washington DC. I wish all the best for the 20th International Symposium on ETDs and place on record the appreciation for all the orgainsers NDLTD, USETDA, WRLC and George Mason University. Thank you very much on behalf Indian ETD repository. |
Howard Earl Fields wins Innovative ETD Award
 Howard Fields’ written dissertation was accompanied by a documentary, which was titled, “The Art of the Student Transfer Program.” This feature-length documentary examined the disparities in education for Black students living in poverty. Dr. Fields takes a look at a St. Louis, Missouri law, allowing students from failing districts to transfer to higher-performing neighboring districts. He examines this law through an often-overlooked perspective: that of the families involved. Through his research, it is evident that these disparities in educational equality have a long and wide-spread history. However, as a former employee of one of the failing districts, the topic hit on a personal level as well. While writing, and transcribing interviews with families would have been a sufficient route to take, Fields’ incorporated his passion for cinematography, and the stories that are better captured through film, to create a documentary that outlines the Student Transfer Program, its impact on the St. Louis area, and three families directly involved. The unique perspectives of each of these families shed light on this controversial topic that the media does not always fully represent. Dr. Fields has transitioned to a neighboring St. Louis school district, where he serves as principal of both an elementary school and 6th-grade center. However, he is still very passionate regarding all matters that are associated with urban education. He continues to strive to help ensure that all students receive an equitable education through mentoring of students and administrators. The thesis of Dr. Fields is available through the thesis repository of the University of Missouri - St. Louis at https://apps.umsl.edu/webapps/weboffice/ETD/search.cfm. The documentary "The Art of The Student Transfer Program" made by Dr. Fields as part of his thesis research: Award acceptance video by Dr. Fields: |
A Look Back: ETD-Conference at Humboldt-University Berlin in 2003
 In 2017 the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, NDLTD (http://ndltd.org) celebrates its 20th Year and Prof. Dr. Peter Schirmbacher writes about the NDLTD’s first conference outside the USA. The first electronic publishing project was organized at Humboldt-University in Berlin in 1997. It gave doctoral students the option to publish their dissertations electronically. In the past in Germany everyone was required to publish their doctoral theses in paper by a publishing house or in microfiche format. The idea of this project was also to make an electronic version acceptable. At the beginning of this project various technical and organizational problems occurred. A goal was to store these works in a special server that would be appropriate for a long term preservation. A new repository had to be built and additional services had to be developed, such as an upload-tool, a search mechanism and an appropriate directory structure. For this project to be successful it was important to find colleagues in other universities with the same problems, and it was not necessary to look for long. A look at Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) showed us that a team of people under the leadership of Ed Fox were active in this field. One result of visit there was the beginning of a very intensive cooperation between the two universities, and Humboldt-University was integrated in the ETD-community. Beginning with the first ETD-conference in Blacksburg in Virginia in 1998, representatives of Humboldt-University regularly took part in the conferences. It was a time I which we had a lot to discuss about technical and organizational problems in managing ETD’s. Some of these questions were:
Every year the number of conference participants has grown. In most but not all cases these were representatives from US universities. The number of participants from different countries also grew, and the community wanted to disseminate the idea of ETD’s worldwide. In consequence the sixth ETD-conference in 2003 was organized by Humboldt-University Berlin in Germany. Under the banner “ETD 2003 – Next Steps: Electronic Theses and Dissertation worldwide” the conference was a big success with 215 participants. More important than the number of participants was the number of countries: 46 from all over the world. With a financial support by the UNESCO and other international and national organizations, it was possible to cover the travel cost of many people who came from countries with no experience in managing ETD’s. This conference helped to establish a new basis for publishing of theses and dissertations worldwide. A lot of documents, such as the guide for Managing ETD’s, could be distributed in many countries. A result of tutorials offered during the Berlin conference was the creation of a multiplicity of initiatives in Africa, Asia and especially in Eastern Europe. The ETD in Berlin was also a signal for welcoming additional international conferences in the next years, such as in Sydney, Cape Town, Lima, Hong Kong and New Delhi. The Berlin conference was really the “Next Step” in disseminating of the idea of Network Digital Library for Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD). |
NDLTD Celebrates its 20th Year
 Edward A. Fox Executive Director and Chairman of the Board, NDLTD August 2, 2017 Almost 30 years ago, in November 1987, a first meeting was held to explore using SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) for dissertations as part of the Electronic Manuscript Project. This event and others in the first decade of activities related to the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, NDLTD (http://ndltd.org) are described in http://fox.cs.vt.edu/pub/ETD/ETD.html. Many early key events had been in the USA, including the U.S. Department of Education award by 9/1/1996 to “Improve Graduate Education with a National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD).” Later in 1996, Virginia Tech decided to require electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), and set a start date for this mandate, 1/1/1997. This marked the first instance (with hundreds to follow) of requiring ETDs at colleges and universities around the world. See a summary of how and why Virginia Tech became the first university to mandate ETD for graduate students in “ETD Celebrates 20th Anniversary” http://hdl.handle.net/10919/71365. Since it was clear that a global initiative was emerging, NDLTD was connected with its new and ongoing name, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, managed by a steering committee, which led planning for the first ETD symposium in 1998 in Memphis, at the University of Tennessee, with 20 attendees. Subsequent years led to events in 1999 (Blacksburg, VA, at Virginia Tech, with 70), 2000 (St. Petersburg, FL, at U. of S. Florida, with 225), 2001 (Pasadena, CA, at Caltech, with 200), and 2002 (Provo, UT, at Brigham Young U., with 135). In 2003, NDLTD was incorporated in Virginia, USA, as an educational organization with 501(c)(3) non-profit status, with an international Board of Directors and a set of committees and working groups. That advance coincided with NDLTD’s first conference outside USA, in Berlin, Germany, hosted by Humboldt U., with 215 attendees (see more about ETD Conference at Humboldt-University Berlin in 2003 here). NDLTD has continued to hold annual meetings, in collaboration with various national and regional groups, so that discussion related to the global movement toward electronic theses and dissertations could grow and develop around the world. Thus, events followed in 2004 (Lexington, KY, at U. of Kentucky), 2005 (Sydney, AU, at U. of New South Wales), 2006 (Quebec CIty, CA, at University Laval), 2007 (Uppsala, Sweden), 2008 (Aberdeen, Scotland), 2009 (Pittsburgh, PA), 2010 (Austin, TX), 2011 (Cape Town, S. Africa), 2012 (Lima, Peru), 2013 (Hong Kong), 2014 (Leicester, England), 2015 (New Delhi, India), and 2016 (Lille, France). NDLTD is based on a small set of important ideas:
As a volunteer organization, NDLTD needs YOU! Please help by serving on a working group or committee, or by helping advance the local or regional activities. The ETD Initiative is based on simple ideas, but calls for collaboration and concern for students and quality, and moves forward if we are open to innovation and change, which are essential ingredients of graduate research as well as scholarly communication. There are clear benefits of ETD events to those new to the ideas, so problems can be discussed, questions answered, best practices identified, and tools/techniques shared. Likewise there are benefits to those who have worked in this arena for years, in part from the satisfaction that comes from sharing and mentoring. Even more, those with experience can address new challenges, e.g., 1) as the numbers of ETDs (now over 5 million) lead to problems of scale, and 2) as the global harvesting method calls for improved attention at all levels to quality of metadata and services as well as standardization. Please help all colleges, universities, libraries, graduate students, faculty, administrators, and researchers to move toward the time when EVERY thesis or dissertation in the world is shared in the most effective way, as openly as possible, and utilized optimally to improve humanity. |
Bid to Host ETD 2019, the 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations
 Please submit your bid by e-mail to Ramesh C Gaur (rcgaur66@gmail.com), NDLTD Conference Standing Committee-Chair, on or before May 31, 2018. Bids will be reviewed by the NDLTD Conference Standing Committee and a recommendation will be presented to the Board at its next meeting. You will be notified shortly after the meeting as to whether or not your bid was successful. The last symposium was held in Lille, France (ETD 2016). ETD 2017 will be held in Washington DC, USA During August 7-9, 2017. Some previous symposia were held in New Delhi, India (ETD 2015), Leicester, UK (ETD 2014), Hong Kong (ETD 2013); Lima, Peru (ETD 2012); Cape Town, South Africa (ETD 2011); Austin, Texas, USA (ETD 2010); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA (ETD 2009); Aberdeen, Scotland (ETD 2008); Uppsala, Sweden (ETD 2007) Quebec City, Canada (ETD 2006), Sydney Australia (ETD 2005); Lexington, Kentucky, USA (ETD 2004), and Berlin, Germany (ETD 2003).The first meeting was held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, in June 1998. ETD 2018 will be held at National Central Library, Taiwan during September 26-28, 2018. Please note that should your institution be chosen to host ETD 2019 you will have the full support and help of the NDLTD Conference Standing Committee in preparing for the symposium. The conference planning handbook will also be available to the Local Organizing Committee. Potential bidders are encouraged to contact Ramesh C Gaur, Chair or any other member of the Conference Standing Committee early in the process of preparing their bid to express interest and receive guidance. The following information should be included in your institution’s bid:
Bidders are encouraged to attend ETD 2017 in Washington DC, August 7-9, 2017 and ETD 2018 in Taiwan, September 26-28, 2018. Your participation can help in gathering more information about the organization of the symposium. |
Register for ETD 2017 Now! Early Bird Rates!
|
Educopia Releases ETD+ Toolkit
 The ETD+ Toolkit provides free introductory training resources on crucial data curation and digital longevity techniques. It has been designed as a training series to help students and faculty identify and offset risks and threats to their digital research footprints. The ETD+ Toolkit is the result of a project funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services. Educopia Institute led the creation of the Toolkit in partnership with the NDLTD, ProQuest, bepress, and 12 U.S. research libraries. What it is: An open set of six modules and evaluation instruments that prepare students to create, store, and maintain their research outputs on durable devices and in durable formats. Each is designed to stand alone; they may also be used as a series. What each module includes: Each module includes Learning Objectives, a one-page Handout, a Guidance Brief, a Slideshow with full presenter notes, and an evaluation Survey. Each module is released under a CC-BY license and all elements are openly editable to make reuse as easy as possible. Who it is for: Anyone may freely adopt and adapt this toolkit. We especially recommend its use by administrators, faculty, and librarians teaching students and by students seeking practical advice about digital content management. Give us feedback (Please) Like the modules? Hate them? Think they’re unique? Redundant? Because these materials have been produced under a grant-funded project, we are requesting feedback that we can share with our funder and that we can use to improve the Toolkit. Please help us to refine the workshops and report back to our funder about how and where they are being used. Contact katherine@educopia.org and sam@educopia.org. |
Submit NDLTD Award Nominations by May 31st!
 We invite all NDLTD members to nominate individuals they feel deserve the recognition! Deadline for Nominations: May 31st, 2017 The NDLTD's ETD Awards recognize and support innovative theses and dissertations and leadership within the ETD community. These awards are presented each year at the annual ETD Symposium. The awards include several categories of appreciation:
The awards will be presented at ETD 2017 "Exploring Global Connections" the 20th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations, Washington, DC August 7-9, 2017. Award Category Information, Procedures and Requirements:Innovative ETD AwardThe intent of this award is to support current graduate students in the creation of innovative ETDs. We anticipate students will use the award to assist in the purchase of specialized software, computer equipment or other technical support needed in the production or publication of their ETD. Nominations for this award should indicate how the award will support the application and integration of renderings, photos, data sets, software code or other multimedia objects in the student’s ETD.
ETD Leadership AwardThis is open to individuals whose leadership and vision has helped raise awareness of the benefits of ETDs and whose efforts have improved graduate education through the use of ETDs. Nominations should include details about the individual's ETD related activities and how the nominee's leadership has made significant advances in the area of ETDs at the local, regional, national or international levels.
*I.R.S regulations require the NDLTD to report all award amounts distributed; citizens of the United States must provide a valid Social Security number to receive award distributions. Winners must agree to the conditions set forth in the eligibility requirements listed here and NDLTD policy. Winners must also agree to make acceptance/acknowledgments materials available to the NDLTD for the purpose of international promotions. For more information about the ETD Awards program contact James MacDonald, ETD Awards Committee Chair. |
Apply Now for ETD2017 Travel Scholarships
 |
1-10 of 57
