An ETD Submission System for the UK

Theses Alive! is one of the projects funded by JISC within the FAIR Programme. Theses Alive! is taking a practical route, by developing ETD submission software customised for use by UK HE institutions, and piloting that software within a number of institutions. The Project is currently evaluating open source software for use in the Project, and a decision will be made by end-April 2003. With its pilot group, the Project will concentrate on developing an interface to the chosen software which achieves the following objectives: * Is simple to use by both theses authors and their supervisors * Permits secure storage of work in progress, and version control * Allows interaction between supervisors and authors * Allows for the generation of metadata records to meet the following requirements: + A MARC record for local OPAC + A standard record for the commercial Index to theses publication + A standard record for the British Thesis Service + A Dublin Core record for the theses repository In addition to the development of a submission system, the Project will run an ETD help service with an 'ETDs FAQ' as its central component. This knowledge base will assist institutions to move towards creating their own ETD services, by addressing issues such as IPR, advocacy with academic staff, publisher policies, digital preservation and other key issues in addition to technical questions regarding software and hardware requirements. This presentation will concentrate on the evaluation of open source software, giving the reasons for the choice which will by then have been made, and discussing the technical considerations involved in customisation for use in the UK. It will go on to discuss the requirements of UK theses authors in respect of an ETD system, and the main concerns which are being addressed in creating the FAQ service