FAQ: Getting DSpace Content: MIT Libraries

FAQ — Getting DSpace Content

The DSpace Federation maintains a website with a variety of information about DSpace software. Questions about the software and its use worldwide are best answered via that community.

For information on adding content to MIT's DSpace, see Creating Content FAQ.

Access and Printing

Do I need to register to be able to access DSpace files?

DSpace registration is not needed for access to DSpace files. DSpace registration will not provide access to MIT-only content, such as the printable version of a thesis. See access restrictions below.

Why can't I print an MIT thesis?

Printable PDF files of theses are only available to current MIT faculty, students, and staff with valid MIT web certificates installed. However, non-MIT people can still look at any theses online.

Once you have found the thesis that you are looking for, select the "Preview Open to All" bitstream at the bottom of the page in the gray box. The "Preview Open to All" PDF file is accessible by anyone, and can be downloaded and read on your computer. You will not be able to print this file, but it does contain all pages of the thesis for on-screen viewing.

If you would like to purchase a printable PDF file or a paper copy, click on the "Not from MIT" link, which will fill in the Document Services MIT Publications order form. If you are affiliated with MIT but are unable to print, please fill out the DSpace Help form.

If I'm not affiliated with MIT, are there any restrictions on what I can access? Why can't I access a certain file?

Many of the items in DSpace are freely available to the public. However, there are several restrictions:

MIT theses cannot be printed by those not affiliated with MIT, although the "Preview Open to All" PDF file can be downloaded to be read on your computer. See "Why can't I print an MIT thesis?"

Access to the MIT Press out-of-print books collection is restricted to MIT students, faculty and staff. If you wish to purchase a copy of one of these books, please contact Gita Manaktala at manak@mit.edu.

Other collections may also have restrictions on files, depending on the needs of the department that set up the collection. If you have a question about a particular file, please fill out the DSpace Help form.

I registered in (or subscribed to) DSpace but I still can't access a certain file.

DSpace registration is not required by MIT's DSpace and does not offer you access to any files. Subscribing to a collection in DSpace merely alerts you to new items available in the collection to which you subscribe and also does not offer you access to any files.

See access restrictions above for which files are accessible in DSpace.

If you are having trouble performing any tasks requiring authorization that are not described in that section, please fill out the DSpace Help form.

Items in DSpace

How do I fix an error in a thesis record? How do I report an error or missing page in a DSpace document?

Use the DSpace Help form, explaining both what and where the error is.

Why isn't a certain thesis in the DSpace thesis collection?

MIT's DSpace does not contain all MIT theses, only a selected group. All new theses since the 2004 academic year are automatically scanned and added to DSpace after cataloging and thesis processing is complete. Theses completed prior to 2004 are scanned on demand, and are only scanned if an individual or an institution has requested a copy of a particular thesis. All of the scanning of paper theses is done on a cost recovery basis, and the first person/institution to request a particular thesis is the one who pays the scanning cost.

It is our goal to scan all of the theses completed at MIT for DSpace; however, more than 100,000 theses have been completed at MIT. The 14,000 theses in DSpace only represent a fraction of MIT's print thesis holdings. Anyone interested in accessing a printable PDF file or a paper copy of a thesis not already in DSpace should make a request through the MIT Publications Order form, or contact Document Services at docs@mit.edu.

Thesis authors receive discounted MIT-only pricing when requesting that their own thesis be scanned. More info is available on the theses pricing pages. Thesis authors who have an electronic copy of their own MIT thesis can add it to DSpace. See Add Your Thesis to MIT's DSpace for more information.

Note: The Institute Archives receives about 1200 theses each year. About 100 theses are processed per month, before they are even ready to be deposited in DSpace. That means it can take as much as 15 months for a recently submitted thesis to finally appear in DSpace.

Paper copies of all theses and (for degrees granted from the mid-1970s through 2003) microfiche copies of theses are available for use through the Institute Archives. Additionally, paper and/or microfiche copies are available in appropriate MIT libraries, though long-term retention policies differ in various locations. See Barton for availability of theses in the MIT Libraries.

How do I remove my thesis from DSpace?

The distribution of theses online in DSpace, which is indexed by Google and other search engines, is part of the publication process for each MIT thesis. All theses completed at MIT may eventually go online in DSpace. The Specifications for Thesis Preparation discuss copyright and MIT's right to distribute the work in electronic or print form.

In some cases, it may be possible to delay the public release of a thesis, by requesting a temporary hold through the Dean of Graduate Students. This is a temporary hold which must be requested prior to the release of the thesis. See the Policy for Temporary Restrictions on the Distribution of Theses for more information.

We do not have a process in place to remove theses from public view after degrees are granted. Each thesis is part of the legal and scholarly record of work completed at MIT.

I am interested in forming a new collection or subcollection in DSpace.

Use the DSpace Help form to contact us. See also Creating Content FAQ.

Problems with Access

There is a bug in MIT's version of DSpace.

Use the DSpace Help form to report any bugs.