Digital Libraries and Research Bulletins

Three years ago the University of Central Florida (UCF) began an electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) submission process to enable students to disseminate their research widely and quickly. This research bulletin highlights how UCF implemented the ETD and discusses the necessary policy and procedural changes, including those that were unexpected, and the work now being done.

Almost without exception, students produce theses and dissertations in electronic formats, and it would seem that an institutional electronic thesis and dissertation (ETD) program would be the rule and not the exception. In the United States, however, ETD programs have been slow to gain ground; other countries are far ahead in implementing comprehensive strategies for the creation of and access to ETDs. The focus of this bulletin is on the development of institutional policies to address ETDs and the changes needed in academic culture to implement robust ETD programs. The value of ETDs as institutional intellectual assets is also explored.

This research bulletin is a companion to ECAR bulletin #18, 2005, "Digital Preservation: A Campus-Wide Perspective" by the same authors. The earlier bulletin outlined the stewardship responsibilities of the academy with respect to administrative and scholarly content. This bulletin explores a proposed model for establishing a digital preservation program in colleges and universities—requirements for educating the institutional community, developing roles and policies, and establishing an integrated technical architecture to support the complete life cycle of digital information. The model was developed at the University of Kansas.

This bulletin outlines campus-wide issues relating to digital preservation, an emerging aspect of the stewardship responsibility for higher education. Digital presentation requires more than simply extending traditional preservation practices to digital information or assuming that media backups are sufficient. Providing ongoing access to vital current content and stewardship of intellectual and cultural heritage challenges us to define a new information environment that promotes the preservation of fragile digital information. A companion ECAR research bulletin (#19, 2005) details the University of Kansas proposed actions in creating an integrated digital preservation program.

This research bulletin describes the active, visual, collaborative learning processes that an increasing number of university and college students prefer, and it outlines strategies for designing classrooms, libraries, and informal learning spaces that respond to those preferences.

This research bulletin describes the results of a study conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, into systems and project requirements for informatics in a broad range of scientific fields (including, but not limited to, bioscience fields), along with requirements in the social sciences and humanities. Faculty were interviewed about what has led them to develop informatics systems in support of their research and what factors are at the forefront as they seek to manage large amounts of research data in a decentralized and collaborative environment. The findings, a mix of the expected and unexpected, have laid the groundwork for new proposals in faculty IT support services.

Learning objects are digital resources that can be reused for learning. The benefits of creating and using digital repositories of high-quality learning objects are significant. This Research Bulletin highlights the issues associated with the use of learning objects, covering key areas such as the search for operational definitions, the impact on the marketplace, and implications for policies and funding. It also details the status of learning objects in higher education based on a survey of higher education institutions.