The absurdity of the situation notwithstanding, the inertia of the system resisted all attempts at streamlining until economic pressure forced the institution to capture costs for analysis. Postal and handling costs are extra and incur another delay. Our new, process-oriented approach allows authors to submit electronically in Postscript. A proof is published for format approval, which is easier to accomplish in paper form. The file is archived locally, for short-term demand.
Turnaround is a couple days.
We FTP to DTIC where they'll convert the Postscript to PDF and add the EText to their downloadable collection. Next month, the duplication and publishing facility adds CD-ROM capability for customers who want it. The new system is saving money and cutting time. We still maintain the capability to process hard copy theses and dissertations when it's necessary, but they are scanned only once. Formats can change, but we're over the hump and thinking digitally.