Electronic Theses and Dissertations Workflows: Interdepartmental Collaboration at the University of Arkansas Libraries

Creating workflows that involve the work of multiple departments within a large organization can be challenging, especially when the procedures are complex and involve a number of stakeholders. This paper describes and evaluates the redesign of an interdepartmental workflow for the dissemination of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) at a mid-sized academic library. The paper outlines the collaborative planning process within the library as well as the eventual outreach to additional stakeholders on campus, addressing the challenges of tackling such communication between the library and other ETD stakeholders. It then presents a detailed examination of the newly revised, semi-automated workflow, the revised student submission forms that resulted from inter-departmental communication, and lessons learned that may be valuable to other mid-sized academic libraries who may be considering similar projects