Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) for the Graduate School

Business Profile

Core Value Proposition

Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) provides a platform to submit, archive, and access electronic theses and dissertations, expanding publishing possibilities by allowing multimedia integration and enabling global access to research.

Target Customer

Graduate students, librarians, faculty and researchers at Penn State and other universities seeking to publish or access theses and dissertations; academic libraries and graduate schools.

Key Differentiator

Multimedia-enabled electronic theses and dissertations hosted by a university library, with open web access and a discovery interface (Blacklight) that supports video, sound, and color images within ETDs, plus easy submission and archiving.

Implementation Timeline

Not specified in the content; the repository appears active with ongoing ETD listings and search capabilities.

Pain Points

1Limited or non-digital access to traditional theses/dissertations
2Need for centralized electronic publishing and long-term archiving of scholarly work
3Challenges in discoverability and broad dissemination of graduate research

Key Features

1Web-based ETD submission, archiving, and management for the Graduate School
2Multimedia embedding (video, sound, color images) within theses/dissertations
3Open access publication and web-based access to ETDs
4Discoverability via a web interface (Blacklight) with metadata for each thesis/dissertation
5Downloadable files (e.g., PDF) and structured metadata (authors, committees, keywords, etc.)

Target Customer Industries

Decision Makers

1Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
2Committee Chair/Co-Chair
3Committee Member
4Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
5Committee Member

Client Results

1Greater access to students' research through web-based delivery
2Expanded publishing possibilities by enabling multimedia content within ETDs
3Global accessibility of ETD collections via the web

Competitive Advantages

1Multimedia-capable ETDs for richer scholarly communication
2Open access and broad, web-based discoverability
3Centralized submission and long-term archiving within a university library system
4Integration with a discovery interface (Blacklight) for easy search and retrieval

Key Benefits

1Open access to graduate research

2Global discoverability via the web

3Multimedia support within theses/dissertations

4Structured metadata and easy downloadability

5Long-term archiving within the university library system

Additional Product Information

Product Description

A university-library-hosted repository for electronic theses and dissertations, enabling submission, archiving, and global access, with multimedia support and a web-based discovery interface.

Target Market

Higher education institutions, university libraries, graduate schools, and researchers seeking access to and publication of graduate research

Unique Value Proposition

A multimedia-enabled, openly accessible ETD repository hosted by a university library, offering streamlined submission, archiving, and global discovery of graduate research through a web-based interface.

Technical Requirements

Web-based repository with a discovery interface (Blacklight) for search and access; support for downloadable files (PDF) and multimedia content within ETDs

Pricing Model

Not specified

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