JISC

Panel members: Paul Ayris, Susan Copeland, Gerard van Westrienen, John MacColl

Summary of Issues from each panellist:  

1. Gerard

In the Netherlands the type of objects, discussion of copyright and mandate to deposit asap is important step in encouraging deposit

2. John

Data linking, building repositories to house the data that goes with the thesis, curation tasks

We have a good test group – new PhD theses can be controlled in way that academic community cannot

3. Susan

Legal aspects, especially 3rd party embedded content.  And retrospective deposit to build up critical mass.  Also issue of content, volume still needs attention.  Keeping of statistics.  Data.  Mulitmedia lets think about beyond the text.

The floor was then opened, Paul Ayris asked the audience to comment on what had struck them during the presentations?

Learning Objects have a very different purpose.  Each institution’s own VLE has course content.

A Reluctance to share, the repository to become dumping ground for all content

How do you deal with confidentiality?

Use of embargoes where necessary.  Always think worst-case.

Has mass digitisation been an issue in the Netherlands?

Each institution has undertaken its own digitisation

Sue: use this as an opportunity for housekeeping of thesis procedure

Have any attendees plans for mass digitisation?

Salford planning to do so – but a problem with material indefinitely embargoed

Are older theses irrelevant and therefore not worth digitising?

It depends on the discipline; the consensus was that there has been little demand for pre 1960 material.  It will be interesting to see usage patterns as content grows – what is digitised, what is accessed?

What about data in theses?

Storage implications – therefore need to good relation with IT services 

Need for new skills to manage this

Existing staff don’t have time or expertise to tackle this

Can you do this nationally?   Peripatetically and employed by JISC?

The Netherlands has only just started on this process

Surely Ethos will move towards a national repository of e-theses?

Currently only 35 out of 170 UK universities have repositories so still a long way to go

The community needs to think about what it is sensible for an institution to do, and what sensibly can to be farmed out to other services?

Is any institution looking at undergraduate dissertations?

Difficult to include - look at issue of academic quality – peer review process, and large number of potential works

 

The Chair thanked the panel and all delegates for their contributions over the two days to a fascinating discussion..