Libraries project digitizes dissertations

In the age of being able to locate information at the click of a button or a search of a term, it is important for the Libraries to provide access to items that have previously existed only in hard copy.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, 298 dissertations from before 1978 were digitized and made available in the Open Repository at Binghamton (ORB).

"This project has given us the chance to promote and celebrate our earliest PhD graduates and showcase the amazing history of research and scholarship on this campus," Digital Initiatives Assistant Caitlin Holton said. "As one of the first projects to utilize our new Inotec high volume feed scanner, it is a concrete example for our department of how to do a large-scale project with similar materials in the future."

Caitlin Holton, digital initiatives assistant, uses an overhead scanner to digitize a book for the Libraries' collection. Image Credit: Bryan Field.

Since its launch in 2016, the ORB has been a vital tool for capturing, promoting and showcasing Binghamton University's research and scholarly output. By enhancing the visibility and impact of Binghamton's academic contributions, the ORB plays a key role in advancing the University's reputation and public value.

"The institutional repository for Binghamton University is integral to our commitment to open information and open access," Holton said. "I want people to know that there is a place on the ORB for their scholarship, research and creative works. In addition to large-scale digitization projects of historical scholarship, we primarily work with departments and individuals to find creative ways for their work to be more widely available via the platform."

Early on, a small subset of pre-1978 digitizations was added to the ORB to help populate the Dissertations, Theses and Capstone collection. The significant engagement these publications received was impressive and demonstrated the ORB's potential to broaden access to this unique scholarship. A dissertation from 1970, for example, had more than 600 downloads. Many other dissertations also had high usage, with some reaching up to 30 to 40 downloads.

Compelled by the statistics, the Libraries' Digital Initiatives and Resource department proposed an ambitious project: digitize the entire collection of pre-1978 dissertations. Among many benefits, the project would expand access to University scholarship output and strengthen connections with alumni and their families. Additionally, the project offered the opportunity for alumni to reconnect with their scholarship, something that was challenging when the Libraries only held non-circulating print copies of the dissertations.

Graduate student Jamey McDermott made notable contributions to the project by creating abstracts when one wasn't available and deciphering the signatures of the faculty advisors. The dissertations showcase the University's vast scholarship, as topics range from "silk weavers of Kanchipuram" to "Faulknerian comedy" to "Vietoris homology theory."

"These dissertations are valuable as sources of research that later researchers can cite and build upon and they also serve as records of what people were studying and writing about at any given time," McDermott said. "Making these dissertations available online makes them more accessible and it helps preserve our materials. This project makes me feel a little more secure knowing that there is a digital copy of something, as well as the physical record."

Providing access to open-access materials is integral to the Libraries' mission. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to share scholarly and creative works in open-access repositories such as the ORB. The retrospective digitization project has proved popular and impactful and complements the Electronic Theses Dissertation ETD collection. These combined collections, 395 theses and dissertations in total, have been downloaded a total of 13,915 times to date.

For dissertations or theses not yet digitized, authors can request to have their work included in the ORB at no cost. By creating an account and adding an email address to the record, authors receive a monthly dashboard report. This free service ensures that works reach a global audience and allows authors to track the global impact of their research.

To access graduate theses and dissertations, go to: https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/

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