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The networked digital library of theses and dissertations: Changes in the university community

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Abstract

DIGITAL LIBRARIES are one of the most effective vehicles for change in higher education. They facilitate collaboration involving universities in an international cooperative venture, unlocking scholarly resources, and carrying out functions previously limited to publishers. They allow faculty and students to improve learning by drawing on rapidly growing collections of valuable content—heretofore largely hidden behind the doors of the library—that include an increasing proportion of multimedia elements or interactive software.

The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), launched in 1996 and building upon work started in 1987, is a federated effort involving well over 120 universities scattered around the globe. Rapidly growing as a result of local, state, regional, national, and international efforts, it aims to enhance the skills of all graduate students preparing theses or dissertations, so they are empowered to create an electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) and to effectively use digital libraries. As universities move to require submission of ETDs, they build the local infrastructure to support their own students in this regard and to dramatically enhance access to this important genre of scholarly publication. NDLTD supports these changes and helps ensure that the move to ETDs remains a sustainable initiative that will continue to enhance university libraries and publishing.

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Author notes

  1. Edward A. Fox

    Present address: McBryde Hall, Virginia Tech, M/C 0106, 24061, Blacksburg, VA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. McBryde Hall, Virginia Tech, M/C 0106, 24061, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Marcos André Gonçalves, Gail McMillan, John Eaton, Anthony Atkins & Neill Kipp

Authors
  1. Edward A. Fox
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  2. Marcos André Gonçalves
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  3. Gail McMillan
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  4. John Eaton
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  5. Anthony Atkins
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  6. Neill Kipp
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Correspondence to Edward A. Fox.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Edward A. Fox is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. There he also directs the Digital Library Research Laboratory and the Internet Technology Innovation Center at Virginia Tech. He serves as Director, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations; Director, Computing and Information Technology Interactive Digital Educational Library Education Resources In Computing; and Editor, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc. Series on Multimedia Information and Systems. In addition to work on diverse research and service activities, he teaches courses on information storage and retrieval, multimedia information and systems, digital libraries, and other topics.

Marcos Andre Goncalves is working toward his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Applications at Virginia Tech. He has been funded on numerous digital library projects in his home country of Brazil and in the USA, playing a key role in support of NDLTD.

Gail McMillan is Director of the Digital Library and Archives at University Libraries and Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She has written and spoken extensively about digital library services and resources including ETDs and electronic journals. For more information.

John Eaton is Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Entomology. He is retiring January 1, 2002.

Anthony Atkins works in the Educational Technologises area at Virginia Tech, following on four years in Digital Library and Archives at University Libraries where he provided key support for NDLTD as well as campus ETD activities.

Neill A. Kipp is currently a product designer and software architect for netDecide Corporation. Kipp worked with the NDLTD from 1996 to 1999.

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Fox, E.A., Gonçalves, M.A., McMillan, G. et al. The networked digital library of theses and dissertations: Changes in the university community. J. Comput. High. Educ. 13, 102–124 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02940968

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