The Role of the Library

University Libraries will do all the traditional things and more with this new form of theses and dissertations; we'll catalog, store, and provide access! You have access ALL DAY, EVERY DAY to all Virginia Tech electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) approved by the Graduate School. The one you want is always on the (electronic) shelf, never checked-out. You can find it by searching VTLS (the library's only catalog), or you can go to the library's VT ETD Web page and browse the list of available titles or search by keyword or phrase. Every ETD title page and abstract will be indexed and available on through the Internet on the World Wide Web at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/

Once an ETD is approved by the Graduate School, the University Libraries will

• Permanently archive and make publicly accessible
• Provide unrestricted access
• Make ETDs available through the Internet with various World Wide Web browsers
• Provide all day, every day access
  

  Will off-line or near-line storage be required in the future? We hope not, but who knows?

• Catalog: create original bibliographic records

  for an international bibliographic database (OCLC)

  for our local online catalog (VTLS)

  These will be more extensive catalog records than were previously created for theses/dissertations. ETD catalog records will also include abstract, file size, and Internet address, in addition to the traditional author, title, etc.

  VTLS users can currently copy/paste URLs into a Web browser to access ETDs at Internet workstations throughout University Libraries

  In the near future, the catalog record will be generated from the e-text.

After being cataloged, ETDs will into full public access on the Internet.

UMI is notified (via e-mail) when each new ETD is available. UMI will

• Download
• microfilm
• archive
• Include in Dissertation Abstracts

How to access VT ETDs:

• Do a traditional VTLS search (e.g., author, title, keywords, etc.) and copy/paste URL from VTLS into Web browser
• Browse a random list of ETDs at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/theses.html
• Search the database of ETDs (at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/theses.html)

Select an ETD and the title page and abstract is downloaded and displayed on your computer screen. If you like what you see, point-and-click on "full text" to display the whole document (a PDF [Portable Document Format] file).

ETDs are available only as PDF files and require the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• available without charge from the SCP ETD home page
  http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/theses.html
• easy to download
• easy to set up your machine to automatically open the Reader whenever you select a ETD

There are lots of places to access ETDs in Newman Library

• Media Center-- 50 Internet workstations
  Equipment and software on every machine for full public access
  Printouts can be made (whole or selected pages) for $.10
      Pay/pick-up from Photocopy Services, 1st floor Newman
  Download to diskettes you bring with you
• New Media Center--equipment/software to prepare ETDs

Copyright and Fair Use

Sect. 106 protects an original expression as soon as it is fixed in a tangible form--including RAM. The author of an original work is the copyright holder and has exclusive rights protected by this law.

The author of an original work is the copyright holder whether they put the symbol or warning on the work or not.

ETD authors share © with the University so that, if in the future the copyright law changes, we can still provide access. Authors retain their full rights as the copyright holder.

Why register a copyright?

• to file an infringement suit
• to possibly receive greater compensation

Sect. 107 describes fair use as it applies to teaching, scholarship, and research, among other things-- educational use alone is not enough to qualify for fair use.

Sect. 108 includes provisions for libraries to provide access to works that are copyright protected.

Comments, questions, concerns? Contact Gail McMillan, director, Scholarly Communications Project, University Libraries, Virginia Tech

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/librarywill.html

created May 13, 1996
updated July 7, 1996