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EThOSnet News, January 2009
From 20th January 2009 EThOS is in the second phase of beta testing phase. This means that you will now be able to order theses from ethos.bl.uk and, should researchers request theses from your institution, you will be requested to send them to The British Library for digitisation.
Some non-critical functionality may not be in place at the start of this beta phase but full functionality will be delivered during the period via updates. We have a number of suggested enhancements and there will be a controlled programme of update releases and improvements to the system. For more information on the developments delivered so far, click here.
If problems are identified in our public beta phase, we will attempt to fix the problem with minimal disruption to the service. If the system has to be taken down for any reason, the current hybrid service will be reinstated until EThOS can be restored.
It is likely that there will be heavy use of the system in the early days so please bear with us if there are initial bottlenecks in the digitisation process and during downloading. Here follows instructions for supplying theses for digitisation and ordering theses:
Supplying theses for digitisation
If you belong to a participating institution (i.e. you have signed the Memorandum of Understanding and sent it to The British Library) please monitor the email address you gave for thesis requests regularly and send requested theses to the British Library, if possible, by the next day’s post. If you cannot supply the thesis please let us know as soon as possible.
Ordering theses
From the start of the public beta phase theses should be ordered from the British Library via the EThOS system, which can be accessed at the following internet address: ethos.bl.uk
Enter this address into your browser address window and you will land at the EThOS Home Page. Here you will be given instructions on how to order theses via the EThOS live site. From here, researchers will be able to download digital theses held on the system and order paper theses for digitisation.
Registration
All users of the system will need to register and login before they can order theses, though they will be able to search without registering. Please remember that it is important that researchers download theses they have ordered directly in order to accept the terms and conditions of supply and help prevent plagiarism.
On the rare occasions where the researcher has to pay for digitisation of a thesis, you may log into the system, order and pay for the thesis yourself and, once digitised, you may inform the researcher that it is available for download. The researcher should then log on to the system and download the thesis for themselves. All downloads are free once the thesis is digitised. They may use their own PC or a library PC, but they must be logged on themselves to accept the terms and conditions of supply.
During this beta test phase, the team at the British Library will continue to work on the service, taking into account feedback and resolving any outstanding technical issues. Once we are happy that the service is fully functional for the whole community, we will end the beta phase.
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