OpenETD Press Release

Date: May 13, 2010

The Rutgers University Libraries are pleased to announce the availability of OpenETD, a web-based software application for managing the submission, approval, and distribution of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). OpenETD is the open source release of the Rutgers University Libraries. RUetd application and will be maintained on the RUetd annual release schedule. Releases will include fixes for known problems and recommendations for enhancements received from internal projects and the user community at large.

OpenETD can be used as either a standalone ETD submission system, or it can be implemented as a component of an institutional repository by using its METS/XML export functionality. Using the METS/XML export functionality, native to OpenETD, implementers can export acquired ETDs to their local institutional repositories for preservation and presentation purposes.

Features of OpenETD include:
  • UTF-8 Compliant

    UTF-8 compliance ensures that diacritics, foreign languages, mathematical symbols, and other characters will be preserved in the metadata and abstract.

  • Support of multiple graduate schools

    Large universities often have several graduate schools. OpenETD provides a centralized system for managing submissions from a System Administrator perspective while also limiting Reviewers' access to only their schools. OpenETD also allows schools to have their own unique degree types, program/curriculums, and submission terms and policies and embargo period(s).

  • Site configuration

    Configurable unique title, logo, color scheme and footer information for the entire university or for each graduate school.

  • Local or Centralized Authentication

    Configurable authentication module to use a centralized LDAP system or local system, or both. LDAP support is limited in release 1.1-beta of the software.

  • Support of supplementary files.

    The ETDs often have supporting materials, all with unique metadata. Restrictions may be applied to acceptable filetypes.

  • Automated Margin and Page Number Validator

    No more rulers! Reviewers can check margins and page numbers on PDF documents with this handy tool.

  • Email Notification System

    Users are notified when the status of their paper changes. Reviewers are notified upon submission and resubmission. Email notifications may be turned off.

  • Graduation Report

    Generate an Excel compatible report of all students with accepted papers for a given semester. This is useful for graduation role call, or the printing of name tags, letters, etc.

  • Semi-Automated Export to ProQuest/UMI

    Export tools generate metadata and zip files of "accepted" ETDs for easy FTP upload to ProQuest's ETD processing facility.

  • Export in METS/XML

    Export tools allow for the generation of METS/XML from submmitted papers.

OpenETD was developed by a team of designers and programmers, led by Chad Mills, RUL Programming Coordinator, Shaun Ellis, former RUL programmer, Kalaivani Ananthan, Digital Library Application Manager, Rhonda Marker, RUcore Collections Manager, and Martha Barnett, Open Source Documentation Coordinator. The development and release of OpenETD is managed by the RUL open source software team, Kalaivani Ananthan and Chad Mills. OpenETD is released through GNU GPL License 3.0. Basic support for the community includes complete installation and user documentation, as well as communication tools for reporting bug fixes and suggesting enhancements.

OpenETD can be downloaded from the RUcore Open Source Projects page: http://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/open/projects/openetd/
  
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