Dissertation Dilemma: To Embargo or Not to Embargo?

"Now that the first batch of dissertations is available in Academic Works, the Graduate Center’s new open access institutional repository, students and faculty are once again wondering whether it’s better to make dissertations open access immediately or embargo them (keep them private, unavailable to readers and researchers) for a year or two or more. The GC Library takes this issue seriously — in fact, so seriously that last spring we co-hosted 'Share It Now or Save It For Later: Making Choices about Dissertations and Publishing,' an event that tackled the question of whether making a dissertation open access affects the author’s ability to publish the work as a book. For background information and relevant readings, see the handout distributed at the event. Below are highlights from the speakers’ remarks ..."