Opening cultural heritage in the age of OAI-PMH: finding Armenia in the OATD discovery service

Abstract

Purpose

Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) distinguishes itself from other ETD databases by providing immediate access to theses that are freely available online. The Republic of Armenia is a small geographical area in Central Asia with a population of only three million, yet an estimated total of five to seven million people of Armenian ancestry live outside of Armenia. What knowledge of Armenian cultural heritage can be discovered by searching OATD for open access theses that relate to Armenian history and culture?. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The OATD database was searched for the terms Armenia or Armenian. Discovered thesis records were exported into citation management tools and analysed for subject content, year of publication, institutional repository source, and a determination of whether Armenia was a primary or secondary topic. Access to theses was also tested to verify their open access. The remaining thesis records (n=152) were exported into an Excel spread sheet for numerical analysis and graphic production.

Findings

From the records getting enhanced metadata (n=152), slightly more (52 per cent) were master's theses. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) used the Republic and culture of Armenia as a primary theme. English was the predominant author language (85 per cent) with Portuguese and French represented less than 5 per cent. World history and social sciences research were the most represented subjects. Most open access theses on Armenia or Armenian culture date from after 2000. All enhanced records, along with their abstracts and direct links, are available in a searchable RefWorks shared folder.

Originality/value

The OATD database was evaluated for scholarly representation of a particular country and culture.

Citation

Joseph Greenberg, C. (2014), "Opening cultural heritage in the age of OAI-PMH: finding Armenia in the OATD discovery service", Library Management, Vol. 35 No. 4/5, pp. 320-328. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-09-2013-0091