14th International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations

(ETD-2011)13-17 Sept. 2011, Cape Town, South

Africa

Data Desiccation: Facilitating Long-term Access, Use, and

Reuse of ETDs

Daniel Gelaw Alemneh andMark Edward Phillips

UNT’s ETDs-General Background -Libraries Role

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The University of North Texas (UNT) began accepting theses and dissertations in electronic format in 1999. ◦UNT is one of the early adopters of what was

to become the ETD movement in higher education

◦One of the first three American universities to require ETDs for graduation.

Background

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The UNT Libraries play an active role in facilitating access to UNT’s ETDs◦ In 2007 the Digital Projects Unit took on a

stewardship role Develop appropriate Metadata Integrate Value added services into the ETDs

◦ In 2010 we started retrospective conversion projects: Digital retro-conversion (in-house project) for pre-1999

theses and dissertations previously available only in paper or microform.

Digital retro-conversion for ETDs (1999 to 2009) previously available only in PDF file format.

UNT Libraries Role

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What makes up UNT’s ETDs?

-UNT ETDs Size -By Access Level-By Degree Level

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UNT’s ETDs

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1. Public: - These ETDs are open or there are no restrictions on these resources.

2. Restricted:-

◦ 2.1 UNT-Community:- These ETDs are restricted to users associated with UNT. Users are normally required to log in using their EUID if they are located outside

the UNT campus. The restricted ETDs after 2007 have a delay (2-5 years) and then they will be

moved to "Public" 

◦ 2.2 UNT-Strict:- These ETDs are restricted to the UNT Community. This will be strictly enforced and users are always required to log in using their

EUIDs, regardless of their location.

Access Levels of UNT’s ETDs

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UNT ETDs Size By Access Level in 2010

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UNT ETDs Size By Access Level in 2011

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51%49%

UNT ETDs Size By Degree Level

Doctoral Master's

62%

38%

UNT ETDs Use By Degree Level

Doctoral Master's

Data Desiccation-Overview-Magick Numbering-Multiple Data Formats-Submission Information Package (SIP)

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In the context of the UNT ETDs, data desiccation first involves converting the deposited PDF into a series of image files that serve as the primary access point to the documents online. ◦High quality JPEG images as the image format

◦Magick numbering involves two running sequences of numbers (an eight digit filename).

Data Desiccation

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Magick Numbering Sequence Pagination Filename

1 Title Page 000100tp.jpg

2 Copyright page 00020000.jpg

3 Abstract 00030000.jpg

4 ii 000400ii.jpg

5 iii 00050iii.jpg

6 iv 000600iv.jpg

7 1 00070001.jpg

8 2 00080002.jpg

9 3 00090003.jpg

… … …  Table 1. Magick Numbering  

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PDF ◦Originally deposited version

JPGs ◦A series of derivatives converted from the original pdf: jpg:- (serve as the primary access point to the

documents online) pro:- (the proprietary format from the PrimeOCR engine) xml:- (a UNT-specific word bounding box file) txt:- (ASCII text file converted from Pro format).

Multiple Data Formats

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Submission Information Package (SIP)

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Enhancing UNT’s ETDs Access/Use via Desiccation

-Multiple Formats Access Strategy-Access by Degree Level-Access by Country-Access via Mobile Devices

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In addition to the originally deposited PDF format, the data desiccation process provides and facilitates additional methods of access by: ◦ exposing the page level OCR text to an increasing number of

search engines◦ allowing page turning interfaces or other interfaces designed for

emerging mobile devices

Multiple Formats Access Strategy

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Longitudinal data will be collected to see if desiccated ETDs receive more use than the older, single-format PDF versions.◦We are already witnessing an overall increase in access to the ETDs in the UNT Digital Library.

Multiple Formats Access …

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Access By Degree Level

Doctor of Education,

Doctor of Musical Arts,

Doctor of Philosophy,

Master of Arts,

Master of Fine Arts,

Master of Journalism,

Master of Music,

Master of Public Administration,

Master of Science,

0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000

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Visits from 216 Countries

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6,000+ visits from Africa

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Access via Mobile Device in 2009-10

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Access via Mobile Device in 2010-11

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Number of Pages Viewed

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Duration of Visit

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Visitor Loyalty

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Traffic Sources Overview

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Referring Sites

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Search Engines

SummaryReferences

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Given the pressure of reading more in less time, today’s users demand access to various formats regardless of temporal and spatial restrictions and the types of devices used.

Based on the data, users:◦ -Increasingly use Mobile devices◦ -Come from different countries (with varied bandwidth)◦ -View one or a few pages◦ -Visit just once

Understanding user communities, their information needs, and their use behavior will help to move contents into the users’ space and facilitate access and use of ETDs.

Summary

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The successful management of ETDs requires multifaceted effort across the entire life-cycle to ensure that ETDs are managed, preserved, & made accessible in a manner that today’s users expect.

Over the past year, the UNT Libraries have put forth great effort in making digital collections more accessible and useful in research processes.

Data desiccation or providing multiple options certainly facilitates both enhanced and long-term access to the contents of ETDs!

Summary

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References- The University of North Texas (UNT) ETD-Progress: http://www.library.unt.edu/digitalprojects/procedures/etd/etd-progress

- UNT Metadata: http://www.library.unt.edu/digitalprojects/metadata

- UNT Theses and Dissertations: http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/UNTETD/browse/

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Questions?Daniel.Alemneh@unt.edu Mark.Phillips@unt.edu and/or