Promoting Open Access to Scholarly Data: A Case Study of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Project at the Simon Fraser University Library

Scholarly data, such as academic articles, research reports and theses/dissertations, traditionally have limited dissemination in that they generally require journal subscription or affiliation with particular libraries. The notion of open access, made possible by rapidly advancing digital technologies, aims to break the limitations that hinder academic developments and information exchange. This paper presents the Electronic Thesis & Dissertation (ETD) Project at the Simon Fraser University Library, British Columbia, Canada, and discusses various technological considerations associated with the Project including selection of software, capture of metadata, and long-term preservation of the digitized data. The paper concludes that a well-established project plan that takes into account not only technological issues but also issues relating to project policies, procedures, and copyright permissions that occur in the process of providing open access plays a vital role for the overall success of such projects.