Kimberly Douglas, Betsy Coles, George Porter, Eric Van de Velde: Taking the Plunge: Requiring the ETD

1. Introduction

The California Institute of Technology is a small, highly focused private research university in the United States that values being on the leading edge of new technologies. The administration and faculty expect individuals, campus organizations or departments to achieve that objective by self-initiated entrepreneurial methods. This is instinctive in the research culture on campus and is therefore not necessarily consciously acknowledged nor even understood by the practitioners. Therefore, it behooves the library administration to so thoroughly understand this culture that innovative projects are launched with a minimum of bureaucracy and process. Yet it must still be done well and successfully.

Caltech produces about 150 PhD theses per year. These breakdown as follows: Engineering = 42%; Chemistry 23%; Physics 12%; Biology 10%; Geology 8% Math 2%; Political Science 2%; Economics 1%. In the spring of 1999, Ed Fox came to campus and made a presentation to enlist increased participation in the electronic thesis (NDLTD<1>) effort. Both the Vice Provost and the Graduate Dean attended that presentation and with continuing agitation and encouragement from the library administration, the Graduate Dean agreed that Caltech should embark on this initiative. The one issue that concerned him was the impact this project would have on the contractual relationship that Caltech and most U.S. universities have with University Microfilms now Proquest. Fortunately, the University Microfilms has taken a non-exclusive position and is committed to peaceful coexistence with the NDLTD.


Footnotes:

<1>

National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations



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