Some practical points on organizing ETD consortia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) digital libraries are being developed worldwide. Higher education organizations commonly collaborate in these efforts by forming consortia. Some of the existing consortia are at the national level while others are at regional levels. NDLTD (Networked Digital Library for Thesis and Dissertations) is an initiative that is creating an international consortium which includes organizations or other ETD consortia in various countries. Consortia are important because they create an opportunity to collaborate, to share experiences, and to establish or adopt standards that guarantee interoperability among participant ETD digital libraries. However, developing consortia is challenging since it requires a strong degree of coordination while at the same time preserving existing organizational identities and functions. this makes the role of consortium coordinator complex. Implementation and operation of information services that integrate the participants\u27 initiatives are the ultimate goal of a consortium. These services are of paramount importance and need to be clearly established in order to operate effectively. This paper addresses some of the issues mentioned above including solutions that have been implemented. It also points to problems that might occur during the organization and operation of consortia