Dissertations & Theses: Digital Publishing Services

 

University Libraries provides assistance, to members of the  community and its affiliates for publishing original research and educational materials online. We believe that free access to scholarship is a public good and we endeavor to meet the evolving needs of authors and readers using open and sustainable practices.

• Datasets supporting publications

• Dissertations and Theses

• Article manuscripts

• Newpapers

• Presentations

• Posters

• Students Work

• Research Scholarship

• Year books

• Archival Catalogs

• Awarded Grant

• Open Educational Resources (OER)

 

Digitization

Digital imaging technology has become a trend, but in order to achieve high quality image capture and reproduction DPS (digital publishing services) adheres to imaging best practices established by the cultural heritage and library communities at large. In addition to the image capture stage, color management workflows and principles are also important to implement in relation to viewing conditions.

We have been scanning via Bookeye Scanner and handling guidelines provided for instruction on the proper handling of archival and special collections materials during digitization and are modifying for specific projects based on the materials being digitized and their condition. Review of the condition of the materials takes place prior to the beginning of a digitization project and is done in consultation with Preservation staff. Special care is taken with fragile, rolled, or oversize materials. All the scanned material like thesis, dissertation, yearbooks, catalogs,newspapers will be slowly uploaded to bepress an institutional repository software once the permission is granted by the authors.

RECOMMENDED IMAGE FORMATS

	File Format	Color Space	Resolution
“Master” (archival) file	8-bit uncompressed TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)	Adobe RGB	For images: 600 ppi (min.) at actual size; for text: 300 ppi (min.) at actual size.
Web-based display files	JPEG and JPEG2000	sRGB	JPEG: assorted thumbnail sizes; JPEG2000: varies per view, up to max resolution of “master” file.

 

DPS IMAGING EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE

	Use Cases	Hardware	Software
Bookeye scanning	kiosk version pad maxium scan area 620x460mm, 36 bit	Book eye 4v2 basic	Opus free flow

 

Metadata

Metadata provides information about a particular object or resource. This may include descriptive information, information about how an object or resource is formatted, and who may access it. Metadata may be generated automatically or constructed by hand. It is usually constructed in the eXtensible Markup Language (XML

Metadata application

• Metadata generation and editing

• Authority control

• Indexing and subject access

TYPES OF METADATA

Descriptive metadata	Descriptive metadata identifies a resource for identification and discovery. Elements such as author and title are examples of descriptive metadata.
Administrative metadata	Administrative metadata contains information to assist in managing a resource. This would include information about who created the file and when.
Technical metadata	Technical metadata describes how a resource was created, its format, and other technical information that enables the object to be delivered correctly.
Structural metadata	Structural metadata provides information on how an object is constructed, for instance, the order of pages in a book. It documents the relationship of individual files in a multi-file object whether it be images, audio or video.
Preservation metadata	Preservation metadata enables files to be usable over long periods of time. It records actions taken on files, processing history, and technical characteristics.
Rights metadata	Rights metadata records who owns the rights to an object, as well as other information such as copyright status, licensing information, permissions, and other information related to use of the object.

 

The Bepress Digital Commons at J B Coleman Library Prairie View A & M University will be going LIVE Jan 2020.The repository goal relates to collecting, preserving, and disseminating the intellectual and creative output of PVAMU faculty, staff, and students while supporting the ongoing mission of Prairie View A & M University as a land-grant university.   

 

Dissertation Databases and Prairie View A & M University Institutional Repository (launching 2020)

 

PhD dissertations and theses are entered the scholarly record through bpress Dissertation Databases and Prairie View A & M University Institutional Repository (launching 2020) . As part of the submission workflow, candidates are given options for making their theses & dissertations available through these platforms. These are frequently asked questions for the authors.  

What is Open Access?

Open access refers to the free availability of research literature online. By making your theses and dissertation open access, you are allowing researchers from all over the world to read your work, regardless of their access to a subscription database. Prairie View A & M University Institutional Repository is an open access institutional repository (IR) for PVAMU research. The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition provides a good overview of how open access differs from traditional publishing.  

Why should I consider Open Access?

There are many reasons why scholars choose to publish open access. One of the most important and powerful of these reasons is that when a scholarly work is published openly, it has the potential to reach the widest possible audience.

Will publishing my dissertation or theses in Prairie View A & M University Institutional Repository  hurt my chances for publishing my dissertation research in a book or journal?

This depends on your field and whether or not you decide to make your dissertation open access immediately. Publishers generally require peer-review and substantial revisions before publishing a dissertation, effectively creating a new version of your dissertation. Though it is difficult to generalize, the majority of surveyed academic publishers in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences on this question report that dissertations that are freely available in online repositories will still be considered for publication.[1-2] The bigger questions publishers ask when assessing the viability a publication are the quality of content and the market for the work. In any case, authors seeking to formally publish their dissertation research can delay the public release of their dissertation for six months, 1 year, or 2 years after submitting to Prairie View A & M University. 

How can I delay the public release of my dissertation or theses? 

In the dissertation or theses submission process, you can select to delay public access to your dissertation or theses for six months, 1 year, or 2 years. Here's a screenshot from the submission form.

I want my work immediately available in my university IR

• Yes

• No- I have patents pending, or another reason why I need to delay access th the full text of my work

 

How long would you like to delay the release to your university institutional repository (IR) (more info)

• 6 months

• 1 year

• 2 years

I published a chapter of my dissertation as an article last year.  I think I transferred my copyright to the publisher in order to get the article published.  What should I do?

Check the publishing agreement you signed or contact the publisher/ journal editor for guidance. If you signed the copyrights over to the publisher, you may need to delay the release of your dissertation. You can also check the SHERPA/RoMEO database for the publisher’s policy on open access archiving. Most journal publishers allow open access in institutional repositories after 1 or 2 years, if not immediately upon publication. 

Do I have to register for Copyright?

Your dissertation or theses is automatically copyrighted by you and additional steps are not necessary to own and manage the copyright to your dissertation. However, there are some advantages to registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Doing so will make it easier for you to defend your copyright against copyright infringement. This is recommended for anyone intending to market, license, or sell your dissertation or theses to others.