Born Analog - USETDA 2021 Conference.
Channel: USETDA
Date: 2022-03-13

Born Analog: A University Library Joins the Digital Age through a Public/Private Partnership.

Troy Espe
https://www.uwsp.edu/library/Pages/faculty/troyEspe.aspx
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Libraries

Troy Espe is the reference and interlibrary loan librarian at  University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He also provides instruction and oversees the institutional repository.

Melissa Bailey
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Libraries

Melissa Bailey is a cataloger at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Libraries and has experience in various areas of library technical services. She received her bachelor’s degree in social science from UW-Stevens Point. When she is not surrounded by a fortress of books, she can be found tending to her small container garden, playing all kinds of board games, and caring for her two guinea pigs, Shirley and Temple.

Austin McLean
ProQuest

Austin McLean oversees a team that ensures universities have opportunities to maximize the dissemination of their PhD and Master’s Theses through the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT Global) database. Austin also works in areas of scholarly communication and digital preservation at ProQuest. He serves at Treasurer of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), a non-profit group dedicated to sharing knowledge and best practices for Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs).

Abstract

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) Libraries had published theses much the same way for decades. Largely analog, the workflow required paper copies, face-to-face transactions, out-of-state shipping, and inconvenient payment options. The process was outdated and inefficient, squandering precious staff time. A series of events — including a new doctoral program, a staff retirement, a rejuvenated institutional repository, and, ultimately, the pandemic — forced the libraries to evaluate thesis and dissertation publishing. In summer 2020, UWSP Libraries hesitantly partnered with ProQuest ETD Administrator. Initially, submissions to ProQuest ETD Administrator were optional. However, the libraries discovered that ProQuest ETD Administrator could streamline publishing for both staff and students with faster turnaround. Within months, the libraries converted fully to digital submissions via ProQuest ETD, eschewing paper copies altogether. This presentation will explain the reasons behind relying on commercial software for thesis and dissertation administration. Panelists will discuss creating a ProQuest ETD Administrator account and how the service has integrated payments, binding, shipping, signature sheets, and open access into the submission process. Library staff also will reveal the benefits — along with the occasional hiccup — of collaborating with a private company for an important responsibility.

Keywords

ETD; electronic theses and dissertations; institutional repositories; binding

United States Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Association.

USETDA 2021 Conference Proceedings: https://www.ocs.usetda.org/index.php/USETDA/USETDA2021

https://www.usetda.org/