The University Library PhD digitisation project will complete the digitisation of the University of Edinburgh’s collection of roughly 25,000 PhDs.
Approximately 10,000 PhDs are already accessible online through the Edinburgh Research Archive, our institutional repository, and this project will digitise the remaining 15,000, thereby making unique Edinburgh research available to all.
The collection dates from the early 1600s to the present day and includes theses of varying sizes, styles and formats. Duplicate theses will have their spines removed using an IDEAL 4705 Guillotine and will then be fed through the 100-page-per minute Kodak i4250 document scanner. These copies will be recycled, freeing up around 500 linear metres of storage space in the Main Library building.
Unique theses will be scanned manually using a Copibook Cobalt flatbed scanner and any items in poor condition will receive conservation treatment.
Following scanning, digital images will undergo several post-processing procedures, such as de-skewing, cropping and de-blurring, and will also be OCR-ed to enable keyword searching. Fully processed files will be uploaded to ERA as searchable multipage PDFs.
All files are due to be made available online by the end of 2018. For further information, please contact Gavin.Willshaw@ed.ac.uk
You can find more information on the project blog at:
http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/phddigitisation/
To search our databases for other PhDs and dissertations from across the world, go to our webpage for theses databases at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/finding-resources/library-databases/databases-subject-a-z/database-theses
research resources
Online resource trials
The University Library is running a large number of trials of online resources at the moment. You can access them here:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/finding-resources/library-databases/e-resources-trials
Our current trial databases cover a vast range of subjects and types of information, from contemporary Chinese politics, to history, philosophy, feminism, visual arts and popular culture. Please take a look at the trials on offer and explore these resources, and don’t forget to give your feedback so that we can decide whether to subscribe to them!
Thank you.
Inter library loans: a reminder for post-grads!
Attention all Researchers looking for slightly more obscure or hard to track down items! Don’t forget you can make use of your free allocation of inter library loans! This is where the Library tracks down and gives you access to items held at other research libraries.
For more info see http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/library-museum-gallery/using-library/request-resources/ill/ill-about
Taught Post-grads are entitled to 20 free loans per year and Research Post-grads qualify for 30 per year!
