This document discusses the benefits of digitizing doctoral theses through retrospective digitization. It notes that ProQuest has digitized theses back to 1743 and their database contains the largest collection of international theses. The document outlines the key benefits of digitization, such as increasing the visibility, accessibility and impact of theses. It also addresses common questions and considerations for libraries regarding digitizing their print theses collections, such as whether to perform digitization in-house or outsource it to a vendor, how to determine copyright and obtain author permissions, and how to measure the impact of digitized theses.

1. Retrospective digitization: increasing the
visibility, accessibility and impact of
doctoral theses
Austin McLean
Director, Scholarly Communications and Dissertations / Theses
(Austin.McLean@ProQuest.com)

2. Theses Dissemination
• ProQuest has digitized theses back to the year 1743
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database is the world’s largest editorially-
curated repository of international dissertations and theses
• The database is the recognized repository for theses by the United States Library of
Congress

3. Why Digitise Theses?
“The troubling reality is that content available in
physical form only, in our current environment of
online discovery and access, will largely fade from
the global knowledge base that the web has
become and from the scholarly conversation that it
supports.
Such a large gap in the scholarly record is so
detrimental to current and future research that we
recommend investing in a large-scale digitization
program to surface these treasures.”
Chris Bourg, Library Director MIT

4. Impact of Digitization
The Scientific Method and
Achievement of Aristotle
and Bacon, by William M.
Dickie,
Ph.D. Thesis, University of
Aberdeen.
4
Submission year 1925
Number of library
checkouts after 90 years
3
Number of views in
ProQuest after
digitization
30

5. Institutional Pain Points
5
Budget Savings Space Reclamation Preservation Shifting Patron Needs
Cut Down on
Duplicate
Collections
Save on Bricks &
Mortar Overhead
Replenish
Institutional
Repository
Conservation of
Institutional
Library Collections
Efficient and
Accurate Search
for Content
Patrons Prefer
Using
Digital/Mobile
Devices
Transform Library
Space for New Use
Ensure Content
Coverage with
Space Limitations

6. Digitize In-House or Utilize Vendor?
• Does the Library have proper equipment?
• Does the Library have appropriate
staffing?
• What is the timescale for the Library to do
the work compared to a vendor?
• What experience does the Library have
compared to a vendor (quality
digitization)?
6

7. Ability to handle fragile,
color, oversized works?
Able to ingest
supplemental materials for
each work?
Experience in large scale
digitization and
preservation projects?
Vendor Capabilities – Questions to ask:
7

8. Should Print Theses Be Kept After Digitization?
• Is space savings a driving factor in digitization of
theses?
• Does the Library have more than one copy of a
thesis?
• What are the implications of digitizing bound
compared to disbound?
- Quality implications
- Cost implications
8

9. How to Approach Copyright / Author
Permission?
 Do the theses need to be
checked to determine if they
contain material under
copyright?
 Do authors need to be
contacted regarding
permissions to post theses on
the internet?
9

10. Where to Disseminate Theses After Digitization?
Should the theses be included in the Library
Institutional Repository (IR)?
Should the theses be included in other
databases / indexes?
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11. How to Measure Impact of Theses Digitization?
Usage data from IR
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Usage from other platforms
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
Apr-14
May-14
Jun-14
Jul-14
Aug-14
Sep-14
Oct-14
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Dec-15
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
Downloads per item

12. (Edit/crop photo to align within this space)
Discover more about Theses Digitization
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Visit Our Digital Archiving and
Access Program Website:
proquest.com/go/DAAP
Shivendra Naidoo
Shivendra.Naidoo@ProQuest.com