1. Introduction

„We really do need to do something on the preservation side. It's a little embarrassing to admit but we'll get there."

Preservation policies are „definitely a work in progress and we are closely following the emerging standards..."

„Lots of thoughts and nothing definite."

- Three survey respondents commenting on their institutions‘ ETD preservation policies

Theses and dissertations represent a significant investment of time by graduate students and their supervising faculty. Collectively, they may be viewed as an important part of the intellectual heritage of an institution. These are compelling reasons to ensure their long-term preservation. But questions arise as to how best to preserve electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) which are „born digital.“ For many printed documents a policy of „benign neglect“ suffices for preservation (Teper and Kraemer, 2002): put them on the shelf and make sure there‘s a roof above. Barring floods, fires and tropical humidity, most of your materials will be preserved.

By contrast, preservation of digital documents is an active process. Hardware, operating systems, software and text encoding standards are evolving rapidly. If no measures are taken to ensure access to a document in each new generation of computing environments, it will effectively be lost. In the words of Besser and Lyman (1998): „Without intervention, the default condition of paper is persistence; the default condition of electronic signals is interruption.“

An active program of digital preservation will require a significant investment over the long term in planning, implementation and long-term supervision; however, Beagrie and Jones (2002) warn: „The costs of recreating a digital resource may be much higher than those for preserving it; further, the opportunity to do so may no longer exist.“ Serious engagement with questions about the digital preservation of ETDs is one way in which research libraries can continue to develop, in a digital context, their role as trusted stewards of intellectual work.

This paper does not provide a step-by-step guide to creating a preservation program for ETDs. Instead, it is hoped that a structured discussion of a survey on ETD preservation will underscore the complexity of the preservation challenges that lie ahead, and prove helpful in framing future discussions among librarians, archivists, and faculty.

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