University Archives Electronic Theses, Dissertations, and Prize Papers

Status: Project COMPLETE.

Project Request

The University Archives provides onsite access to print copies of Harvard theses, dissertations, and prize papers in the Archives' reading room. In accordance with the Harvard Corporation vote of January 22, 1951, these works are subject to a five-year restriction (no copying or distribution for five years from the date of degree or prize award):

“The literary rights, including those of publication, copying extracts, or closely paraphrasing from the manuscript, shall remain the property of the author, except that the University shall have the right to make available to the public and copyright any unpublished thesis or prize paper at any time after the expiration of five years from the time it was accepted. Every reader using one of these manuscripts shall be required to sign a printed acknowledgement of the fact that all literary rights are so reserved.”

When researchers visit the Archives' reading room to use theses, dissertations, and prize papers, they are required to sign a form acknowledging this restriction and specifying that they must seek the written permission of the author to make copies of the work.

During the pandemic, providing access to these materials has not been possible. The Archives believes that Alma-D is a good solution to allow controlled digital access for students seeking to virtually access recent theses and prize papers. In partnership with Lee LaFleur, Director of Learning and Teaching Services for the Harvard College Libraries, the Archives would like to load the digital content and provide access to patrons via Alma D in time for the Spring 2021 semester that begins on January 25th, 2021.

Project Leads

Library Lead - Robin McElheny

Library Team - Ross Mulcare, Kate Bowers, Timothy Driscoll, Jennifer Pelose, Erin Clauss, Lee LaFleur

LTS Lead - Corinna Baksik

Tasklist

Completed Date	Task	System	Phase	Who
Planning
10/22/2020	Library submits project request.	Alma Support Center	Planning	Library
10/29/2020	LTS/Library will meet to review request and verify project meets pilot criteria.	Zoom	Planning	Library/LTS
12/9/2020	LTS will create wiki page for project that tracks all mapping information, timelines, and decision points and share with the stakeholders.	Email	Planning	LTS
12/8/2020	Library will provide configuration information for the service in the project request ticket.	Alma Support Center	Planning	Library
11/25/2020	Library will provide Alma login forms for staff who will create/update Alma records	Alma Support Center	Planning	Library
Testing & Implementation
12/8/2020	Update Alma sandbox logins	Alma	Testing	LTS
	Update Alma sandbox configuration Create collection Create Access policy	Alma	Testing	LTS
Not Applicable	Configure NextCloud for project coming soon	NextCloud	Testing	LTS
January 2021	Alma sandbox: load records / digital objects	Alma	Testing	Library
January 2021	HOLLIS sandbox: request records be published from Alma	Alma	Testing	Library
January 2021	HOLLIS sandbox: confirm records/functionality	HOLLIS	Testing	Library
January 2021	Request configuration changes, if needed, and LTS pre-production review	Alma/HOLLIS	Testing	Library
12/8/2020	Update Alma production logins	Alma	Move to production	LTS
January 2021	Update Alma production configuration Create collection Create Access policy	Alma	Move to production	LTS
January 2021	Update Alma wiki documentation for Alma-D	Wiki	Move to production	LTS
January 2021	Update local workflow documentation	Varies	Move to production	Library
Post
	Announce Service	Email	Communication	Library
	Create dashboards/canned reports Alma Analytics	Alma	Service Review	Library/LTS
	Evaluate service/determine next steps	Alma	Service Review	Library/LTS

Library Service Information

Parameter	Service Definition
Access rights
What types of patrons should have access? Access can be allowed for all users, to only patrons with Active Alma accounts/HK holders, or to specific Alma user groups.	Active Alma accounts/HK holders
Should there be limits to the number of concurrent users? Access can be allowed for a maximum number of simultaneous users, or have no limit.	No limit to concurrent user.
Should there be a time limit on length of use of object? Access can be allowed for a maximum length of time before starting a new virtual session.	3-hour time limit on length of “loan”
Should patrons be allowed to download content? Downloads can be explicitly allowed or turned off.	No downloads
Should a use statement be displayed to users? A use statement can be provided on screen for the item.	This thesis/dissertation/prize paper is the property of Harvard University, but the literary rights remain the property of the author and their assignees. It is being made available online only to Harvard community members exclusively for reference use. No further reproduction and/or distribution of this title is allowed within five years of the author’s degree date or prize award date unless authorized in writing by the author. It is the reader’s responsibility to credit the use of this work.
Should use statement be presented as a click-through? It is also possible to require this access statement to be a click through (i.e. user must Accept terms before seeing digital item).	Yes
Digital Representation
What type of content will be uploaded?	Mostly PDF files. There are a few files associated with three of the Hoopes Prizes that are not PDFs so further consultation on the following content types will occur as part of the project. We have 4 .png files We have ONE video file, now in mp4 format, 1.4 gb.
Who is creating the digital objects?	Authors created the content.
Workflow
Do metadata records already exist in Alma for the Digital Representations?	No, these will be created by Archives staff
Will digital representations be loaded by staff through the Alma interface, or is a batch load required?	Representations will be loaded by Archives staff