Facilitating greater access to ETDs through CONTENTdm

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to describe several stages in a university library's approach to providing access to theses and dissertations, culminating in a decision to use CONTENTdm and its Dublin Core‐based metadata along with our ability to provide even wider access in the future through OCLC.

Design/methodology/approach

The university's treatment of theses and dissertations, from paper through a homegrown electronic system through CONTENTdm and beyond, is recounted in this paper.

Findings

Electronic open access to theses and dissertations increases their usage; a digital management software package streamlines their management and presentation.

Practical implications

Proprietary software has advantages over home‐grown approaches to digital library content.

Originality/value

This paper updates the findings in earlier articles about the use of CONTENTdm for ETDs and the use of OCLC services for metadata harvesting.

Citation

Howard, R.I. and Goldberg, T. (2011), "Facilitating greater access to ETDs through CONTENTdm", OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650751111135418