The Course Catalog had already required students to submit a digital copy of their IS to the Libraries since 2005, but typically less than half of seniors would comply, and even if they did, digital preservation was an afterthought. Two developments, (1) the launch of our DSpace DRC instance, and (2) the construction of the Collaborative Research Environment (CoRE) this year, a renovated space in the first floor of Andrews Library, provided the political and technological impetus needed to move IS into the digital age.
We created a Senior Independent Study Thesis collection in the DRC. In close collaboration with faculty and administration, we designed an input form that was as easy as possible for seniors to use, while also meeting the metadata standards of the College. For example, the administration’s desire for all students to submit a digital abstract led us to make the abstract field required. Student ease of use was another concern. Without Shibboleth and LDAP authentication, technologies that would allow students to login using their existing email credentials, we created a single login and password account that all seniors would use. Despite shortening the input form over many design iterations, we created a concise PDF handout and screencast that walked the student through the process. We even created a giant “Submit your IS” tootsie roll graphic for the DRC front page, inspired by the College’s tradition of handing tootie rolls to every senior who turns in their IS.
On the policy front, Mark Christel, Director of the College of Wooster Libraries, worked closely with the faculty’s Educational Policy Committee (EPC) to craft a submission, access and copyright policy and license agreement that delicately balanced the desire to make student work open access and discoverable, with the need to protect privacy, ownership and prepublication rights. The following emerged:
I represent that the Independent Study (I.S.) project is my own original work, and does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe upon anyone else's copyright.In addition, exceptions to the policy were proposed for students needing to embargo access to their IS due to pending publication. The faculty unanimously approved the policy in their March 5 meeting.
I grant The College of Wooster and its designated employees a non-exclusive, perpetual, and royalty-free license to archive and provide unrestricted access to my I.S. project, in whole or in part, in any medium, to The College of Wooster community. I also authorize the Provost the right to distribute copies of my I.S. project to other individuals. I understand that I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my I.S. project.
To enforce the above policy, the Libraries’ Digital Scholarship and Services department worked closely with the Registrar’s office. We created a private Google Docs spreadsheet that dynamically updated the list of seniors who had turned in their digital IS. If a student tried to turn in their bound copy to the registrar, they first checked their name against the Google Doc. A negative match would have them prompt the student to make a digital submission first. This way, no student would slip through IS submission cracks. In addition, all library staff and Research Help Desk students were provided with IS submission training, ensuring that anyone could answer a senior's basic questions about the process.
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| To engage the campus community, we installed an IS countdown page on the TVs in the CoRE. |
-Stephen X. Flynn
Emerging Technologies Librarian
The College of Wooster
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