Campus partnerships advance both ETD implementation and IR development

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to articulate the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) implementation process at Syracuse University. It will describe the development of a collaborative partnership between the Graduate School and the Syracuse University Libraries (SUL) that advances open access and the scholarly communication issues among graduate students, the proposed plan for a dissertations and theses retrospective digitization project which will continue to strengthen the partnership between University Archives, university relations, and the SUL. It could also serve as an inspirational point for other institutions. Design/methodology/approach – This case study documents the successful strategies that were used to advance scholarly communications education efforts on campus and ETD implementation using an institutional repository. Findings – Partnerships, flexibility, and creativity are essential to a successful initiative. Originality/value – Sharing successful stories is crucial in our rapidly developing field. Although each institution is different, we all have things we can learn from each other and adapt to our own environment. The important lessons here are taking opportunities, building partnerships, being flexible, and creative to ensure the initiative's success.