Do Long Embargo Periods Facilitate External Publication of Electronic Theses and Dissertations?

Abstract

Embargo periods for Electronic Thesis and Dissertations (ETDs) collections require librarians to balance the needs of content creators (ETD authors) with those of content consumers (end-users). This poster examines the local impact of the American Historical Association's July 2013 policy statement recommending a six-year embargo for history dissertations to facilitate external publication. Embargo selections by local PhD candidates in history and political science are compared for periods before and after this statement was issued. External publication rates and average length of time prior to publication are compared for embargoed and non-embargoed titles.