What is the relationship between UMI (ProQuest) and the ETD initiative?
UMI has a commercial interest in continuing to build its database and archive of digital dissertations and is also supportive of the ETD initiative as exemplified by the NDLTD and the OhioLINK ETD Center . It has a representative on the Steering Committee and on the Technical Advisory Committee of the NDLTD. The NDLTD project focuses on graduate education and raising the level of knowledge transfer through the free availability of theses and dissertations with special regard to theses, which are not generally included in the UMI products. At the same time, those involved in the ETD initiative acknowledge the value of the UMI database and the services offered by UMI and other commercial vendors. The OhioLINK ETD Center will preserve your dissertation or thesis in perpetuity and transfer a copies of dissertations to UMI.
