dissertations library of congress

• Library of Congress
• Ask a Librarian
• History, Humanities, Social Sciences

Frequently Asked Questions: History, Humanities & Social Sciences

• Access Services
• Africa, Middle East
• American Folklife
• By The People
• Caribbean, Iberia, Latin America
• Collections Management Division
• Congress.gov
• Film, TV, Video
• Genealogy, Local History
• General Reference
• Manuscripts
• Maps, Geography
• National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
• Newspapers, Periodicals, Comic Books
• Performing Arts
• Poetry, Literature
• Preservation
• Prints and Photographs
• Rare Books, Special Collections
• Recorded Sound, Audio
• Science, Technical Reports
• Teacher Resources
• Veterans History
• 2 Appraisals
• 1 Collections
• 2 Main Reading Room
• 1 Reading Rooms
• 1 Using the Library

Does the Library of Congress have PhD Dissertations in the collections?

The Library of Congress holds an extensive collection of U.S. doctoral dissertations. Most of these dissertations do not have records in the  Library of Congress's Online Catalog , however, and none are freely available online through the Library. Resources through which researchers can access the Library's collection of dissertations are discussed below.

The majority of the Library's dissertations are available on microfilm and have been acquired through a subscription with University Microfilms International (UMI), now known as  UMI Dissertation Publishing  (a division of  ProQuest ).  The Library's subscription was  established in 1938 , when UMI began microfilming dissertations for archival purposes. Although initially not all universities participated in this archival project by sending their dissertations to UMI for microfilming (the University of Chicago did not participate until 2009), today all major universities submit electronic dissertations to UMI; as a result, the program is very comprehensive.

Of the roughly 1,000,000 dissertation titles in the Library's collections, most are microfilm or microfiche and may be requested in person in the Library of Congress's  Microform and Electronic Resources Center  (Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ 139). Some early dissertations and those from the University of Chicago through June 2009 are found in paper copies throughout the Library's General Collections and can be searched by title or author in the Library's  online catalog also available at catalog.loc.gov.

The Library of Congress also subscribes to  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  ( PQDT ). This database provides citations for nearly five million dissertations from 1861 to the present, as well as the full-text of 2.6 million dissertations.  Full-text access to most dissertations since 1997 is available, along with full-text access to many pre-1997 dissertations. These dissertations can be downloaded in PDF format; other dissertations are available for purchase through the database. Due to the limitations of the Library's license to use this product, only researchers in one of the reading rooms at the Library of Congress are able to gain access to  PQDT . The database is also available through many larger academic libraries. Of special note: dissertations in this database are  indexed through Google Scholar . As  noted by ProQuest : "An authenticated ProQuest dissertations user searching Google Scholar will be recognized by the ProQuest platform and connect to the full text in their library’s collection. Users who are not recognized are sent to a landing page where they can purchase the dissertation or access the first 24 pages at no charge. Dissertations that have been published using the ProQuest Open Access publishing model are available to all users for free."

If a dissertation is not available electronically through ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  ( PQDT ) , the citation provides a unique number that can be used to request dissertations on microfilm, as specified above.

Several printed reference sources, also available at many academic libraries, offered cumulative coverage comparable to  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global .  These are  Dissertation Abstracts International ;  Masters Abstracts International ; and  American Doctoral Dissertations . The latter two print publications have ceased; and print editions of  Dissertation Abstracts International  no longer appear to be published.

For researchers who lack library access to  PQDT , ProQuest offers various options for searching and purchasing copies of dissertations  available through  PQDT . Researchers who would like to purchase a known dissertation listed in  PQDT  but don't have access to the database can search for the dissertation by title, author, and order number, and then purchase a copy, through  Dissertation Express .

An increasing number of free databases allow users to search for citations to and sometimes the full text of U.S. and international dissertations. For example:

• A limited version of dissertations submitted to ProQuest have been published as open access materials and can be searched through  PQDT Open .
• The British Library's  Electronic Theses Online Service  ( EThOS ) allows users to search across 500,000+ theses from the United Kingdom for free and order their full text quickly and easily. Database content is also indexed in the larger  EBSCO Open Dissertations  database (see below).
• The  Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations  contains nearly six million electronic theses and dissertations from the U.S. and other countries.  Start your search here .
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations  is an index of over 3.5 million electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) from around the world. To the extent possible, the index is limited to records of graduate-level theses that are freely available online.
• The  DART-Europe E-theses Portal  includes more than 828,000 full-text theses and dissertations from 619 participating universities from 28 European countries.
• The  Theses Canada Portal  includes more than 200,000 electronic theses from the Library and Archives Canada's collection.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations i ncludes records for more than 1.2 million electronic theses and dissertations, including the content of the former  American Doctoral Dissertations  database. By providing access to  American Doctoral Dissertations , it offers a comprehensive record of dissertations accepted by American universities during 1933-1955 and listed in the print index  Doctoral Dissertations. EBSCO Open Dissertations  also indexes the content of the British Library's EThOS database (see above).
• Records for 800,000 dissertations from more than 90 countries and over 1,200 institutions are available through the  Center for Research Libraries .
• Records for selected dissertations and theses by  WorldCat member libraries  can be found through the  WorldCat database's Advanced Search page  (limit search by Content to  Thesis/dissertation ).

The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) lists  additional online sources for international dissertations .

Many Library researchers are interested in accessing Masters theses. While many Masters theses are indexed by ProQuest, a comprehensive listing is not available through  PQDT .  In addition, as a general rule the Library of Congress does not collect Masters theses. With few exceptions, the best source for obtaining Masters theses is the library of the university granting the degree.

Library of Congress researchers interested in Chinese dissertations can access the contents of  Chinese Electronic Dissertations (CETD)  database through the  Airiti Library  subscription database . Similarly, the  China Doctor/Master Dissertations Full-text Database  (1999- ) can be accessed through the larger  China National Knowledge Infrastructure  database. Researchers  should contact  the Library's  Asian Reading Room  for additional guidance locating dissertations in Chinese and other Asian languages. Additionally, researchers should:

• contact the Library's European Reading Room  for additional guidance locating dissertations in European languages;
• contact the Library's African and Middle Eastern Reading Room  for additional guidance locating dissertations in African and Middle Eastern languages; and
• contact the Library's Hispanic Reading Room  for additional guidance locating dissertations in Spanish and other languages spoken in parts of the world encompassing the Caribbean, Latin America, and Iberia.

Related Topics

• Collections
• Using the Library
• Reading Rooms
• Share on Facebook

Was this helpful? Yes 8 No 2

Chat Service

We offer online chat service Monday - Friday from 12 - 4 pm (ET).

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Collection information.

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Inspirational Video
• Unique Features

Subject Specific Guides

• ProQuest ETD Administrator -Electronic Submissions ProQuest has been providing delivery of dissertations and theses electronically since 2003. We have developed over 400 submission sites for institutions and expect to have a total of 500 completed by the end of 2012. The ProQuest ETD Administrator is currently the most widely used submission tool.
• ProQuest ETD Dashboard

Other Relevant Guides

• ProQuest One Academic
• ProQuest Central
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

With more than 5 million dissertations and theses ,  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses  Global  is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. PQDT Global connects scholarship from 4,100 universities, diverse voices, ideas, and perspectives can be viewed within a singular global context.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  is the official dissertations repository for the Library of Congress. It   includes access to international scholarly works from USA, UK to Continental Europe, Africa to India and China. Our partnerships with universities have been key to expanding the reach and impact of graduate works. By working together, the visibility of both the institution and its PhD dissertation production are enhanced in the worldwide research community. In 2017, ProQuest joined forces with China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) to provide first-ever global access to abstracts of the graduate output of 80 Chinese Universities.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  is updated weekly and features 24 indexed and searchable fields, including full text searchability for the entire text of full-text dissertations. Around, 200,000 dissertation works added annually.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  allows students, faculties, and research scholars:

• To Check the Uniqueness of Dissertations Titles : T o find titles related to their scholarly interests and to make sure that their proposed thesis or dissertation topics have not already been written about
• Global Network of Knowledge: PQDT Global connects scholarship from 4,100 universities globally, diverse voices, ideas, and perspectives. PQDT Global database gives instant access to high-quality, multidisciplinary research materials to Uncover new ideas and innovations with more confidence and effectiveness.
• Equitable Search Results: A dedicated ProQuest editorial team reviews every title and applies enhancements to create equitable discoverability across subjects and institutions, consistently delivering quality, relevant results
• Connections to Insights: Each full text dissertation in PQDT Global is fully searchable providing an unparalleled resource for text and data mining analysis making connections that generate new insights.
• The Undiscovered: PQDT Global helps the students and research scholars to uncover the “undiscovered research” insight and intelligence which is often overlooked because the majority of scholarly research is never formally published into books and articles. Rich with new and niche information on every topic imaginable, dissertations are a wealth of potential insights for all levels of researchers.
• Citations Connection - Citation Connections deliver Foundational Research and Similar Dissertations documents. User can extract Dissertation citations which are cross-linked, searchable, and offering a “ready-made” list of sources on a topic .
• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ - The integration of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enab les researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.8 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 65 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

Watch this brand new inspirational set of short video clips on how ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global impacts the research.

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses User Stories
• Impact Your World: Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source using Dissertations
• Impact Your Research: Progressing STEM Studies by Using Dissertations as a Primary Resource
• Impact Your Authority: Empowering Graduate Students to Achieve Success by Using Dissertations as a Learning Tool
• Amplify Your Research: Advancing Autism Research by Publishing with ProQuest
• << Previous: Home
• Next: Unique Features >>
• Last Updated: Jul 31, 2024 3:58 PM
• URL: https://proquest.libguides.com/pqdt

University Library

How to Find Dissertations and Theses

• Finding Dissertations and Theses
• University of Illinois Dissertations

Google Scholar

Proquest dissertations and theses, non-u.s. dissertations.

• Dissertation Tracking

Ask a Librarian

Google Scholar searches specifically for scholarly materials, including Open Access (freely available) dissertations and theses. Many institutions make their dissertations publicly available, making Google Scholar a great place to search.

See the Library's guide on Google for Academic Research for more information.

If the Library does not have a copy of a dissertation or a theses, use ProQuest Dissertations and Theses to obtain a citation for the dissertation. Most American and Canadian universities are represented in this database, as well as selected British and European universities. Dissertations completed at many major U.S. universities during the past 10 years (and sometimes earlier) are available as full-text downloads.

If full text is not available, you can request a dissertation through interlibrary loan.

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses This link opens in a new window PQDT is a collection of citations to dissertations and theses worldwide from 1861 to the present day. Full-text is available for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and some of the older graduate works. PQDT is also the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress. Also included are the citations to British and Irish dissertations and theses (PQDT: UK & Ireland) since 1761 and abstracts for content since 1986. Note: UIUC masters theses are not in PQDT. They are only found in IDEALS or in the library catalog .

A note on terminology for dissertations and theses: these words are used differently depending on the country (at least in the English speaking world). In the US, dissertations are for doctoral work while a thesis can be a for a bachelor’s or master’s degree. However, it’s often flipped in Europe, e.g., a master’s dissertation and a doctoral thesis.

• The DART-Europe E-theses Portal DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries in Europe who are working together to improve access to European theses. Several hundred universities link their digital repositories to DART-Europe and link to full text theses.
• EThOS: e-theses online service A project by the British Library Board to provide access to all dissertations from institutions in the UK. This website indexes the dissertations and provides links to full text where available and provide assistance to institutions digitizing dissertations. If available, full text dissertations are free to download.
• Foreign Dissertations at the Center for Research Libraries Try here when looking for a dissertation outside of the United States and Canada. CRL acquires hundreds of non-US, non-Canadian doctoral dissertations a year to add to its 800,000+ collection of dissertations. Acquisitions are primarily through the demand purchase program . Because the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a member of CRL, loans to the U of I community are provided free of charge - just fill out a standard interlibrary loan request and put "Item held by CRL" in the notes field.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations This directory provides links to country-specific and international online libraries of electronic theses and dissertations. Many items, including those dating back to the early 1900s, are available in full text for free. For those not available in full text, fill out an interlibrary loan request.
• Theses Canada Portal A searchable catalog of all Canadian theses published since 1965, many of which are available in full-text electronic versions which can be downloaded free by students, scholars, and the public. You can also access and search for free full text electronic versions of Canadian theses and dissertations that were published from the beginning of 1998 to August 31, 2002.
• << Previous: University of Illinois Dissertations
• Next: Dissertation Tracking >>
• Last Updated: May 9, 2024 2:48 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/finddissertationstheses

DATABASES: Library of Congress E-Resources Online Catalog

Licensed and recommended free databases, indexing and abstracting services, and full-text reference resources.

|| Keyword Search  ||

Due to system maintenance and upgrades, this system may be unavailable on the following dates: October 2, 2018 and October 9, 2018 - 5:30pm to 8:30pm ET The Library will provide a list of alternative ways to access electronic resources when the system is not available. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Search articles, ebooks and other eresources available at the Library of Congress using Primo , the Library's web scale discovery service.

|| Browse Database Titles Alphabetically ||

|| browse database topics ||.

Send us Feedback  |  View Terms of Use

Searching ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses: Home

• Basic Search
• Advanced Search
• Searchable Fields
• Command Line Search
• Full Record: Citation & Abstract
• Full Record: Full Text - PDF
• Find Similar
• Look Up Citation
• Sample Searches

Subject Coverage

ARTS, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, HUMANITIES and SOCIAL SCIENCES

• Area, Ethnic and Gender Studies
• Communications and Information Sciences
• Fine and Performing Arts
• Language & Literature
• Philosophy and Religion
• Law and Legal Studies
• Social Sciences
• Interdisciplinary

BEHAVIORAL, NATURAL and PHYSICAL SCIENCES

• Agriculture
• Architecture
• Behavioral Sciences
• Biological Sciences
• Ecosystem Sciences
• Engineering
• Environmental Sciences
• Geosciences
• Health and Medical Sciences
• Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Publication Types

• Doctoral Dissertations
• Master's Theses

Live Webinars & Recordings

• Register for a webinar or listen to a recorded session on ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Head of Library Services

What is ProQuest Dissertations & Theses?

With more than 2.9 million entries, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses allows:

• Graduate students to consult the database to make sure their proposed thesis or dissertation topics have not already been written about
• S tudents, faculty, and other researchers to search for titles related to their scholarly interests
• Instant access to high-quality, peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary research materials
• Building your ebooks collection – with each dissertation including an ISBN, ProQuest is the world’s largest publisher of ISBNs
• Cross-searching with journal and other content types on the ProQuest platform

The database includes bibliographic citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861 as well as European dissertations back from the 17 th century, to those accepted as recently as last semester.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is the official dissertations repository for the Library of Congress and the publishing partner of the National Library of Canada.

The full text of more than 2 million of these titles is available in paper, microform, and electronic (if subscription allows) formats. Institutional subscribers to ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Full-Text receive online access to the complete file of dissertations in digital format for hundreds of thousands of titles published before 1997, as well as every title from 1997 forward. 

PQDT offers access to the first 10% of the dissertation (up to 24 pages) for those dissertations and theses available in electronic form.

PQDT is updated weekly and features 24 indexed and searchable fields, including full text searchability.

Selection Policy

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and the collection includes work by authors from more than 1,700 graduate schools and universities the world over, and covers every conceivable subject. 

Every major research university in the United States and Canada is represented in the database and there is also a decent and growing international coverage.

Publication Coverage

PQDT offers access to 2.9 million citations to dissertations and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Over 80,000 new dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

Need Help? Ask a Librarian.

Need more help? Ask a librarian!

• Online Form
• Contact a Subject Specialist

Reference hours:

• Mon-Thurs: 9 am - 11 pm
• Fri: 9 am - 4 pm
• Sat: 9 am - 4:30 pm
• Sun: 3 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Library Catalog Basic Search

Find journal(s), library information.

• My Library Account
• Ask a Librarian
• Just the FAQs
• Library Home Page
• Library Hours

• Personnel/Telephone Directory
• Next: Basic Search >>
• Last Updated: Aug 14, 2024 12:39 PM
• URL: https://libguides.jsu.edu/dissertations

Graduate Student Toolkit: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

• Find Articles & Databases
• Dissertations
• Accessing Other Libraries
• Google Scholar, etc.
• Bibliographic Management
• Professional Development and the Job Search
• Rare Books and Archives

Dissertations and Theses Full Text

A comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. The official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and the database of record for graduate research. PQDT — Full Text includes millions of searchable citations to dissertation and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works.

More than 70,000 new full text dissertations and theses are added to the database each year through dissertations publishing partnerships with 700 leading academic institutions worldwide and collaborative retrospective digitization of dissertations through UMI's Digital Archiving and Access Program. Full Text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Some will be native PDF, some PDF image.

Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637. Where available, PQDT — Full Text provides 24-page previews of dissertations and theses.

• Dissertations & Theses Global Fulltext and citations. Contains 1.2 million full-text dissertations, including most dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Includes 2.7 million citations to dissertation and theses from around the world from 1861 to the present day.

Dissertations @ Stony Brook

• Dissertations & Theses @ SUNY Stony Brook Fulltext. PDF versions of Stony Brook University dissertations, plus 24-page previews.

If a dissertation is NOT available in ProQuest's Dissertations and These Full Text database, you can search for print copies in WorldCat.  Be advised, however, that in many cases there is only one copy held at the institution the produced the dissertation, and that it may not be avaialbe for loan.

You can also search WorldCat to search for dissertations that were later published as a monograph.

Purchasing Dissertations

Older dissertations may not be available through InterLibrary Loan and may have to be purchased from ProQuest.  If you find a title in Dissertations and Theses Full Text that is not available in the database as a PDF, there is an option to purchase a copy. A Custom PDF (delivered within 3-5 days) costs $37.  Print copies range from $39 (unbound) to $70 (hardcover).

• << Previous: Find Articles & Databases
• Next: Accessing Other Libraries >>
• Last Updated: Jul 12, 2024 9:33 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.stonybrook.edu/ahsgradtoolkit
• Request a Class
• Hours & Locations
• Ask a Librarian
• Special Collections
• Library Faculty & Staff

Library Administration: 631.632.7100

• Stony Brook Home
• Campus Maps
• Web Accessibility Information
• Accessibility Barrier Report Form

Comments or Suggestions? | Library Webmaster

Except where otherwise noted, this work by SBU Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Dissertations, Academic

• http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85038494
• http://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh85038494#concept
• Academic dissertations
• Programs, Academic
• Thesis writing
• Universities and colleges--Dissertations

Narrower Terms

• Cataloging of academic dissertations
• Electronic dissertations
• Libraries--Special collections--Dissertations, Academic

Related Terms

• Academic disputations

Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

Broader concepts from other schemes, lc classification, editorial notes.

• subdivision [Dissertations] under names of individual universities and colleges, e.g. [Harvard University--Dissertations]

Instance Of

• MADS/RDF Topic
• MADS/RDF Authority

Scheme Membership(s)

• Library of Congress Subject Headings

Collection Membership(s)

• LCSH Collection - Authorized Headings
• LCSH Collection - General Collection
• LCSH Collection - May Subdivide Geographically

Change Notes

• 1986-02-11 : new
• 2010-01-15 : revised

Alternate Formats

• RDF/XML (MADS and SKOS)
• N-Triples (MADS and SKOS)
• JSON (MADS/RDF and SKOS/RDF)
• MADS - RDF/XML
• MADS - N-Triples
• MADS/RDF - JSON
• SKOS - RDF/XML
• SKOS - N-Triples
• SKOS - JSON

• Research Guides
• CECH Library

Education Complete

• Theses & Dissertations
• Search Word Help
• ASL and Deaf Studies Journals
• Children's and Young Adult Literature Journals
• Content-Subject Area Journals
• Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Secondary Education Journals
• Educational Psychology Journals
• Gifted Education Journals
• Higher Education Journals
• Instructional Design and Technology Journals
• Multicultural Education Journals
• Special Education Journals
• TEFL Journals
• Tests and Measurements
• Checklist for Education Literature Review
• Professional Organizations
• Systematic Review Resources
• Other Relevant Library Guides

Theses & Dissertation Databases

Use these databases to find dissertations and theses.

Access to a body of well over 8,000 University of Cincinnati electronic dissertations and theses, this is the best link to the broadest collection of electronic UC dissertations. The time period covers mainly from 1955 to the present. To acquire the dissertations electronically, users request the full text from UMI (ProQuest) and are sent a link and a password to access the dissertation. Dissertations from 1997 forward are available in the OhioLINK ETD at ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations). Coverage: 1955 to present

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) is the world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses. As the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and as the database of record for graduate research, PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. It also includes PQDT UK & Ireland content. Coverage: 1861 - present

• << Previous: Tests and Measurements
• Next: Checklist for Education Literature Review >>
• Last Updated: Jul 29, 2024 1:58 PM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/edcomplete

University of Cincinnati Libraries

PO Box 210033 Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0033

Phone: 513-556-1424

Contact Us | Staff Directory

University of Cincinnati

Alerts | Clery and HEOA Notice | Notice of Non-Discrimination | eAccessibility Concern | Privacy Statement | Copyright Information

© 2021 University of Cincinnati

Top of page

Web Archive Dissertation Reviews

Back to Search Results

About this Item

• Dissertation Reviews

Created / Published

• United States.
• Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540 USA
• http://dissertationreviews.org/

Access Condition

• -  dissertationreviews.org (domain)

Online Format

Additional metadata formats.

• MODSXML Base Record
• MODSXML Supplemental Record
• General Collections (198,669)
• Web Archive
• 2015 to 2022
• United States

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is making its Web Archives Collection available for educational and research purposes. The Library has obtained permission for the use of many materials in the Collection, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law.

Many, if not all, of the websites in the collection and elements incorporated into the websites (e.g., photographs, articles, graphical representations) are protected by copyright. You are responsible for deciding whether your use of the items in this collection is legal. You are also responsible for securing any permissions needed to use the items. You will need written permission from the copyright owners of materials not in the public domain for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Some content may be protected under international law. You may also need permission from holders of other rights, such as publicity and/or privacy rights.

Researchers should consult the sites themselves for information about rights, contacts, and permissions. The catalog record for each archived website contains the specific information about the site known to the Library. Some sites in this collection may be restricted to onsite access only; see the Access Condition statement in each item record for more information.

The Library of Congress would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified on this website so that we may make the necessary corrections. In addition, if you are a copyright owner or otherwise have exclusive control over materials presently available through this collection and do not wish your materials to be available through this website, please let us know. To make a takedown request, please contact us via this contact form .

Content Embargo

Citing resources in the web archive.

Citations should indicate: Archived in the Library of Congress Web Archives at www.loc.gov . When citing a particular website include the archived website's Citation ID (e.g., /item/lcwa00010240). Researchers are advised to follow standard citation guidelines for websites, pages, and articles. Researchers are reminded that many of the materials in this web archive are copyrighted and that citations must credit the authors/creators and publishers of the works. For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources .

More about Copyright and Other Restrictions

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Dissertation Reviews . United States, 2015. Web Archive. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016939/.

APA citation style:

(2015) Dissertation Reviews . United States. [Web Archive] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016939/.

MLA citation style:

Dissertation Reviews . United States, 2015. Web Archive. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016939/>.

Columbia University Libraries

English and american literature: books, dissertations, etc..

• Getting Started
• Books, Dissertations, etc.
• Articles from the 17th through Mid-20th Centuries
• Literary and Historical Text Collections
• Annual Overviews of Scholarly Work
• Citing Sources
• Proximity Searching

Books, Journals, Databases, Audio and Video Recordings, etc.

Start with CLIO Catalog to find books, journals, e-books, databases, and items in all formats in Columbia University Library collections. Titles held by the Law Library (and not already held by other Columbia Libraries) are now included in CLIO. (Use the Educat   catalog to find books and journals in the  Teachers College  Library collection.)

WorldCat contains over 179 million records for items held by the vast number of libraries belonging to the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). It includes records for books, manuscripts, websites and internet resources, etc. Searching WorldCat is an excellent way of seeing beyond the range of what Columbia has collected to the larger universe of what is actually out there.

Identifying Books and Journals Important to Your Subject

One handy way to get an overview of scholarly literature on the subject of your research is to consult:

Oxford Bibliographies      (Oxford University Press) A series of articles on a wide range of academic subjects across all disciplines. Each article identifies, describes, and evaluates important books and journals for a specific subject. "Every article in our database is an authoritative guide to the current scholarship, written and reviewed by academic experts, with original commentary and annotations." (from publishers description)

Dissertations

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  "The world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses. As the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of Congress and as the database of record for graduate research, PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. . . . The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works."

EThOS : e-theses online service (British Library) "EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses. . . . EThOS aims to provide:     • A national aggregated record of all doctoral theses awarded by UK Higher Education institutions     • Free access to the full text of as many theses as possible for use by all researchers to further their own research." EThOS includes records for theses from all UK PhD-awarding institutions, but  does not yet hold all records for all institutions.

• << Previous: Biography
• Next: Articles >>
• Last Updated: Aug 23, 2023 12:35 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.columbia.edu/english
• Donate Books or Items
• Suggestions & Feedback
• Report an E-Resource Problem
• The Bancroft Prizes
• Student Library Advisory Committee
• Jobs & Internships
• Behind the Scenes at Columbia's Libraries

• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Postdoctoral Fellows
• Faculty and Staff
• Make a Gift

Submitting the Dissertation

Submission of my dissertation, how do i submit my dissertation.

All dissertations are submitted electronically to Rackham during the post-defense submission. The final digital copy will be the copy of record. To submit your dissertation, you will access the Rackham dissertation online submission website. You will be asked to provide bibliographic keywords, or tags, that describe the content of your dissertation, including subject, concepts, theory, and methods. These will help others to find and retrieve your dissertation. You will copy your abstract to the website and upload a PDF of the final digital copy of your dissertation. The staff of Rackham’s Academic Records and Dissertations will review your submission, and may require you to make final changes before the submission is approved. No further changes will be allowed once the dissertation is approved and submitted. Rackham will hold your dissertation until your degree is conferred (which happens three times a year in April, August, and December). After your degree is conferred, Rackham will forward your dissertation as the copy of record to Deep Blue , the permanent digital repository of the University Library.

What rights do I retain after I submit my dissertation?

Please see the Deep Blue Author’s Deposit Agreement for more information.

What is Deep Blue?

Deep Blue is a digital repository that is part of the University Library. It provides permanent, safe, and accessible digital archiving, preservation, and distribution functions for the University of Michigan. Deep Blue’s primary goal is to provide access to the work that makes Michigan a leader in research, teaching, and creativity.

Will I be able to find my dissertation online when it is made available through Deep Blue?

Yes. It will be available through the University Library’s online catalog about three to four weeks after your degree is conferred. You will be able to find it listed in the University Library’s online catalog and via Google Scholar, a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text of scholarly literature.

Do I still need a bound copy for the Library?

No, the University Library no longer accepts printed and bound copies of dissertations. Your committee or department may ask you to provide them with a bound paper copy.

Dissertation Release

Am i required to release my dissertation to the general public.

Yes. From the inception of the modern doctorate in the early 19th century, a central purpose of doctoral education has been to prepare students to make significant scholarly contributions to knowledge. The dissertation is submitted as public evidence of your scholarly accomplishment meriting the conferral of the doctoral degree. In keeping with this long-standing tradition, which is consistent with the university’s public mission, it has always been the university’s expectation that every doctoral dissertation and abstract will be released upon conferral of the degree. Only in specific circumstances may release of a dissertation be deferred, and then only for a limited period of time.

What are my options for restricting release of my dissertation via Deep Blue?

You may choose to delay public release of the dissertation for a period of two years, renewable, to protect intellectual property during the patent application process; to maintain confidentiality agreements protecting third-party proprietary information; to provide sufficient time to publish your dissertation in book form or as journal articles; or to protect informants at risk of identity exposure.

The embargo may be extended for a fifth and final year only for purposes of protecting the ability to publish the dissertation in book form.

You may choose one of two levels for restricting accessibility on Deep Blue during the first two years in which public release is delayed:

• Complete restriction: the author, title, abstract, and dissertation will not be listed or accessible to anyone.
• Partial restriction, limited to those with U-M Kerberos access: the author, title, and abstract will be listed; the dissertation will be accessible only with permission of the student.

Only partial restrictions are allowed for extensions of the embargo beyond the initial two years. Students will be contacted via email at least one month before the expiration of the embargo period. The dissertation will be publicly released if the student does not request an extension and provide a reason for this request.

Students may lift an embargo and make their dissertation publicly accessible at any time.

How do I ask that access to my dissertation in Deep Blue be restricted?

We recommend that you confer about dissertation embargo options with your Dissertation Chair and other members of your dissertation committee. If you decide to request an embargo, you will apply for an “ Embargo Request .” Your Dissertation Chair (or Co-Chairs) must approve.

Can my advisor restrict access to my dissertation?

No. It is your dissertation and an embargo request must come from you, with the approval of your Dissertation Chair/Co-Chairs.

ProQuest/UMI

Am i required to submit my dissertation to proquest.

Rackham strongly encourages all doctoral students to submit their dissertations to ProQuest, but does not require it.

Why should I submit my dissertation to ProQuest?

The graduate school strongly encourages doctoral students to submit a digital copy of the final dissertation to ProQuest Dissertation Publishing .

You may digitally submit your dissertation to ProQuest at no cost. By making a copy of your dissertation available through ProQuest, your work will become part of the world’s largest permanent archive of doctoral dissertations. Founded by an alumnus of the University of Michigan, since 1938 ProQuest has been archiving and distributing dissertations from graduate schools around the world, and today manages a database that includes 90 percent of all dissertations from U.S. institutions. Abstracts of dissertations submitted to ProQuest are listed with the Library of Congress collections, and are published in Dissertation Abstracts International . By providing ProQuest with a digital copy of your dissertation, an archived microfilm copy is created and a digital copy is made available through the largest central repository of dissertations in the United States, one that has been designated as an official off-site repository of the Library of Congress. You retain all intellectual property rights to your dissertation, and are free to publish it later in parts or in its entirety. When you submit your dissertation to ProQuest, you will be asked to sign an agreement with ProQuest online. You also may request ProQuest to register the copyright for your dissertation in your name, but you should first discuss this option with your Chair or Co-Chairs.

May I ask ProQuest to delay release of my dissertation?

Yes. You may indicate what kind of embargo you would like on the ProQuest agreement you receive during your post-defense submission. You do not need permission to do this.

Whom should I contact if I have further questions?

You should discuss any questions you may have with your Dissertation Committee Chair or Co-Chairs. You may also email [email protected] .

Contact Academic Records and Dissertations

0120 Rackham Building 915 East Washington Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070 Phone: 734.763.0171 Fax: 734.936.3335

Academic Records and Dissertations is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The office is closed Saturdays and Sundays and on the following holidays: Thanksgiving (Thursday and the following Friday), Christmas through New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day.

Top of page

Library of Congress Digitization Strategy: 2023-2027

February 13, 2023

Posted by: Trevor Owens

Share this post:

The following post was co-authored with Steve Morris, Chief of Digital Collections Management and Services and Tom Rieger, Manager of Digitization Services. 

The Library of Congress has a new Digitization Strategy for its collections. As we did for the Library’s Digital Collections Strategy , we are excited to share this overview of it with readers of The Signal blog. We get a lot of questions about what we digitize and why, and hopefully this provides a little bit of insight into our institutional plans and priorities.

The Library has expanded the amount and throughput of our digitization efforts dramatically over the past three decades. In 2020 we finished digitizing the last of our presidential papers – all of the personal papers of the presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge are now available to anyone with an internet connection. In 2021, we opened a new Digital Scan Center, which significantly increased digital image production capabilities and postproduction processes. So far, we have digitized more than nine million items in our collections, with particular strengths in newspaper issues, manuscripts, and pictorial materials.

Over the next five years, the Library will expand, optimize, and centralize its collections digitization program to significantly expand access to users across the country to rare, distinctive, and unique collection materials which can be made openly available online and use digitization as a core method for preservation reformatting of rights restricted collection materials. Below are the five guiding strategic objectives for this work.

Strategic Objectives

• Transition from one-off project-based digitization toward the systematic digitization of rare, distinctive, or unique materials in the Library’s collections that can be made openly available online : Over the last two decades the Library has scaled up capacity to support major digitization projects using a targeted project-based approach, with priorities established according to a variety of factors. Evolving user expectations necessitate a more systematic approach that prioritizes material that can be made openly available online and that is not already available online from other institutions.
• Systematically deploy digitization as a core method for preservation and collection management workflows : Over the last five years, the Library has made significant progress in transitioning preservation reformatting from the production of print facsimiles or microfilm to digitization. This shift not only meets current preservation requirements, but it also supports enhanced onsite or offsite access. Going forward, the Library will use digital systems for reformatting, and will integrate digital delivery into collections management processes.
• Enhance the reach of library programs, exhibitions, events, and special initiatives by establishing a rapid-response focused and targeted projects digitization program in support of priority initiatives : A wide range of Library programs, events, and special initiatives draw on and offer opportunities to deepen engagement with the Library’s collections. Enhancing processes and capacity to support a range of rapid-response digitization projects will support these efforts.
• Review and improve the operational effectiveness, organizational structure, governance and prioritization processes for digitization efforts in support of the increasingly central role of digitization for access and preservation: As digitization has become an increasingly important technology for access to and preservation of Library of Congress collections, a wide range of organizational units have developed capacity to support this work on a large scale. It is critical to further mature digitization into core areas of the overall collections program. This includes but is not limited to clarifying roles for prioritizing specific digitization initiatives, and affirming requirements for technical standards.
• Implement end-to-end tracking and reporting on the status of digitization of collection items: The Library has for many years measured digitization efforts in terms of total counts of master files produced. This is a useful metric, but it does not align with other methods for counting Library collection items. Further, tracking total counts of master files produced does not necessarily mean that those images have been fully processed and been successfully made available to Library users. Over the next five years, the Library will implement methods and approaches to fully track digitization of collection materials from the beginning of projects to the point where they have been successfully made available to users.

Comments (6)

Does the Library accept (or has it considered accepting) digitization nominations from researchers or the general public? If so, how would one suggest material to be considered? In any event, thanks to all at the LOC who are making items in the collection accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

It’s exciting to see the expansion of digitization at the Library and to envision the possibility that the entire physical collection will have a digital complement.

To keep up with this wealth of digital assets, the Library needs to invest more time, effort, technology, and creativity to make them more easily and productively discoverable. It’s not enough to match search terms to a list of disconnected results.

The user experience viewing a digitized document can also be improved. Currently the viewing options all give equal weight to each image and assume that the only way to consume information is in page-order sequence. That is not how we read books, periodicals, or newspapers, much less reference works.

Thank you to the Library of Congress for doing such a nice job in bringing us all these services! I have been very impressed by all the audio reading/listening material which has been made available, and look forward to lots more of it.

Dear Library of Congress,

I am a reference archivist at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). I am part of the research network InterPARES Trust AI, running out of the University of British Columbia. As a partner, UNESCO Archives is leading a study on digitization and AI and developing a model for sustainable digitization projects. We would like to reference the LoC Digitization Strategy 2023-2027. To this end, I would like to ask the following two questions:

1) Is it possible to have a copy of your strategy or to speak with someone about your strategy?

2) We will be disseminating a survey on digitization and AI in early March, and invite you to respond to the survey. If you are willing, could I please have the contact email address of the person within your organization who could respond to the survey? The survey seeks to understand the current state of digitization projects and programs across different types of organizations, whether and how organizations are digitizing for long-term sustainability, and to understand whether organizations are beginning to use AI in digitization.

Thank you in advance. Kind regards, Eng Sengsavang (she/her) Reference Archivist UNESCO Archives

Hi Eng, Thanks for your comment. This sounds like an interesting initiative. I will follow up with you over email about the best points of contact on this.

Is the full text of this strategy published? Where can I find it?

See All Comments

Add a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *