UPDATED August 23, 2011, LL

If a request comes in through either Special Collections or ILL, please first determine that it is not available through another avenue. See "Finding Theses & Dissertations" for additional instructions: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/help/dissertations.php

If the only copy available is either the non-circulating bound copy in Special Collections or the access-restricted copy in Digital Collections, then follow the procedures as outlined below:

1. All non-UMBC patron requests for copies of these materials will need to originate through ILL; if a request is sent to Special Collections or requested during a visit, inform the researcher that they will need to file an ILL request through their local library. Please refer questions to Lindsey Loeper.

2. When a request is received, ILL staff will contact the requester and notify them that due to the nature of the request the order will be fulfilled in 4 weeks. Forward the request to Lindsey Loeper at lloepe1@umbc.edu.

3. Special Collections will attempt to contact the author through the contact information provided in the thesis or dissertation. If the author has not responded within three weeks, the publication will be made available through ILL. If the thesis or dissertation was published within the last 5 school years, permission from the author is REQUIRED - if permission cannot be obtained then the request must be cancelled..

4. If the requested document is available in the Digital Collections, the file will be re-saved with the appropriate watermark applied and e-mailed to ILL for distribution. The file will be made available to the requester for 30 days.

5. If the requested document needs to be scanned, it will be scanned in Special Collections according to the basic print standards. The pdf will be saved with the appropriate watermark applied and e-mailed to ILL for distribution. The file will be made available to the requester for 30 days.

6. The pdf will also be emailed to Michelle Flinchbaugh for inclusion in the Digital Collections.

Special Collections staff: The watermark file is located at I:\SpecColl\Dissertations & Theses\ETDwatermark.jpg.  When applying through Adobe Acrobat, scale relative to target page 100% and have it appear behind the page. 

Digitizing instructions (for students):

1. Pull the thesis or dissertation using a call slip; in the memo field on the call slip, write "for ILL scanning".

2. Use the bookscanner, not the flat bed.

3. Place a piece of acid free paper behind each page that you are scanning to limit the bleedthrough from the text on the following page.

4. Delete all CR2 or non-JPEG files, if necessary.

5. Edit the image files in Photoshop.

   1. Crop the image to reflect a typical 8 x 10 proportion.

   2. Rotate the image.

   3. Check the quality of the scan; you may need to zoom in (Ctrl and +) in order to best judge. If too blurry, re-scan!

   4. Edit Image Size: Select Image > Image Size. Uncheck the "Resample Image" box so that the print size height, width, and resolution are all linked. Set resolution to 300 - this should make the width approx 7.5 in. and the height approx 10.5 in.

   5. Edit contrast: Select Image > Auto Contrast

   6. Save as: Use page numbers with leading 00s (example Page 001, Page 050). If there are no page numbers, use title of page (example, Abstract). At the Image Options screen, set to 5.

   7. Do not delete or alter the original scanned image file until the pdf has been created and approved by Special Collections staff.

6. Inform Special Collections staff that the files have been completed; staff will then compress (Microsoft Image Viewer batch edit, Compress > Document), create the pdf, complete OCR, and add the watermark.