Electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) as unique open access materials: case of the Kenya Information Preservation Society (KIPS)

From the abstract: The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) as important and unique collections that facilitate open access....The paper presents a brief introduction of the importance of ETD as materials for open access. This is with emphasis on the Kenya Information Preservation Society (KIPS) project which has, since 1993, been digitizing theses from a number of participating institutions across the country....The paper finds that the necessity of showcasing the intellectual research of higher education institutions within Kenya is reason enough to justify making the move towards creating electronic thesis services. The benefits making ETD available outweighs that of print-only thesis provision due to the potential for enormous dissemination and open access....Such approaches boost the knowledge economy of any country....