US Copyright Office – Recently reviewed circular

The US copyright office recently reviewed their Copyright Basics circular available at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf.  We all know students, in general, do not take the time to research topics at length but many have questions about what copyright is and is not.  This circular is only 12 pages long and is clearly broken down into easily digestible information.

Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 Available

Digital Scholarship has released the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010.  This 466-page book presents over 3,800 selected English-language articles, books, and other textual sources that are useful in understanding scholarly electronic publishing efforts on the Internet.  It covers digital copyright, digital libraries, digital preservation, digital rights management, digital repositories, economic issues, electronic books and texts, electronic serials, license agreements, metadata, publisher issues, open access, and other related topics. Most sources have been published from 1990 through 2010.  Many references have links to freely available copies of included works.

 

The Scholarly Electronic Publishing Bibliography 2010 is available as an open access PDF file and a low-cost paperback. All versions of the bibliography are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

 

http://digital-scholarship.org/sepb/annual/sepb2010.htm

US and International ETD Programs

This Google spreadsheet was created in an effort to pull together — collaboratively — a listing of institutions that have ETD programs in place, providing information such as:

• Mandatory or non-mandatory programs;
• Beginning date;
• Repository system used; and
• Embargo information.

Since this Google spreadsheet is shareable, anyone involved in an ETD program can provide information for their institution.  It takes very little time to add information for an institution and the more institutions that complete the document, the more useful it will become.

Gear Up for the 2011 Annual TxETDA Conference

The Texas ETD Association has released its invitation to attend the 2011 Annual TxETDA Conference to be held February 10 at the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington. Our conference theme, “Making It Click: Building Connections with ETD Professionals,” represents our desire to advance the knowledge and community of professionals who work with, or hold interest in, ETDs in the state of Texas. While the conference focuses on the needs of the Texas ETD professional, all university administrators, and staff are welcome to attend, as well as individuals outside of Texas or academia.

The conference website provides additional details regarding registration, accommodations and the conference program. Please share this announcement via any listservs or groups which might have an interest in being part of this event. We hope to see you there!

Save the date! 2011 TxETDA Conference Scheduled for Feb 10, 2011

Make plans now to attend the Texas ETD Association annual conference to be held at the University of Texas at Arlington on February 10, 2011. The goal of the leadership committee is to organize a day packed with helpful and practical information to advance the knowledge of ETD professionals, as well as to provide opportunities for networking with graduate school and library colleagues.

If you have an interest in working with TxETDA on the conference planning sub-committee, please let us know. We have multiple areas to serve and are looking for helpful and creative individuals to ensure the success of the conference. Emails should be directed to lhammons@tamu.edu.

More details will follow in the coming months! Updates will posted to the 2011 TxETDA Conference Page.

Find the Texas A&M University Thesis Office on Facebook

The Thesis Office at Texas A&M University recently launched a Facebook page in order to better connect and communicate with students about processes, events and deadlines. This fall, the office is coordinating a series of workshops and seminars to introduce services and guide students in the preparation of their ETD. Facebook has been a key vehicle in spreading the message and managing RSVPs to the events. The page already has over 50 fans. If you would like to become a fan and stay connected with the Texas A&M Thesis Office, then be sure to Like Us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tamu.thesis.

Committee Chair’s Guide to Vireo Approval

Texas State University recently added a new resource to its website for committe chair’s in order to provide guidance on the new electronic submission process via the Vireo ETD Submission and Management System (developed by TDL). To view the guide, see the link from the TSU Graduate College website.

Texas ETD Association Wordle

Wordle is a site that allows you to generate word clouds from text. I took a few minutes to highlight the Texas ETD Association and TDL on the Wordle site. Not sure why, but the actual word TxETDA did not show up anywhere. See below for the results. The thumbnails are a bit small, but you can click on the pictures to see a larger version. You might want to visit Wordle and create your own!

Illinois student newspaper features Vireo

From the TDL blog:

The Texas Digital Library and its electronic thesis and dissertation system Vireo received a mention today in The Daily Illini, the student newspaper for the University of Illinois.

Illinois has used Vireo as its ETD submission and management system under a license from TDL since 2009. The story focuses on Vireo’s ease of use for students submitting their theses and dissertations.

An excerpt from the article notes,

 First started in 2009, the system, allows graduate students to electronically submit their dissertations on the Graduate College’s website. With the adaptation of this new software, students no longer have to print out entire dissertations and submit them physically or through post, said Rebecca Bryant, assistant dean at the Graduate College.

 With so many benefits, some may wonder why the system has only recently made its way to the University. Aquino said he used a similar system at another school, and is “surprised” ETD is just being introduced. Some institutions have had a similar system for up to 10 years, and Bryant said the birth of the system has been requested by students for a while.

“It has taken some time to know what format to use, or to know what is easiest for students,” Bryant said. “There were challenges before. In the past couple years, we had the personnel and the potential, really, to do it.”

The Graduate College received the software for free from the Texas Digital Library, Bryant said.

To see more, please visit the TDL blog posting and The Daily Illini website, linked above.

Vireo Users Group launches website

The TDL website is currently featuring the Vireo Users Group website, noting: 

Vireo users will want to bookmark this page. The Vireo Users Group (VUG) has launched its website, and it features a growing store of content covering the TDL’s Vireo electronic thesis and dissertation submission and management software. The website includes profiles of institutions using Vireo and updates about VUG activities. Also be sure to read about how Vireo got its name.

The VUG was formed to provide a forum for users and potential users of Vireo to exchange information about Vireo and prioritize constituent needs to guide the TDL on the future development of the software. Those interested in joining the Vireo Users Group can e-mail the TDL at info@tdl.org.