ETD Guide/Technical Issues/Packaged solutions
Since 1995, there have been plans to share work developed in connection with ETDs so as to help others. The first such effort was funded by the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), to spread the work around the Southeast of the USA. Virginia Tech acted as the agent for this effort, creating software, documentation, training materials, and other resources. In particular, it became clear that software was needed to support student submission, staff checking, library processing, and support for access. The Virginia Tech resources were packaged in connection with these efforts and the follow-on work funded by the USA’s Department of Education. These were made available starting in 1996 through local and NDLTD sites, and updated regularly since.
The following subsections give details of the Virginia Tech solutions, as well as extensions to it, and alternatives. NDLTD offers to assist such sharing by providing a clearinghouse for whatever seems appropriate and useful to share.
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