british thesis service

EThOS: e-theses online service Open access EThOS: e-theses online service Open access

EThOS, provided by the British Library, is a free online service providing access to UK doctoral theses.

Please note, EThOS is currently unavailable due to the British Library cyber attack in 2023. The British Library currently do not know when the service will be available again. Please see the British Library website for further information about the cyber attack . [June 2024]

Access EThOS is an open access resource.

Content  EThOS, provided by the British Library, is a free online service providing access to UK doctoral theses. It does not cover MPhils or master's dissertations.

EThOS aims to provide a central listing of all doctoral theses awarded by UK higher education institutions, with the full text of as many theses as possible. 

The database includes more than 600,000 records. Around 4,000 law theses are covered, dating from the 1920s to the present day.

Searching  EThOS has basic and advanced search facilities. Searches can be limited to theses available for immediate download.

Advanced search allows users to search by author, title, awarding body, year of award and other criteria. Boolean connectors (AND, OR, AND NOT) can be selected from a drop-down menu

Downloading  Many theses are available for download; it is necessary to create a free account to do this. 

There is an option to request digitisation of a thesis if it is not yet available for download. Sometimes this is free, but sometimes there is a charge (see FAQs). 

Help A Help menu and an FAQ page are available.

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Physical & Digital Collections

Theses & dissertations: home, access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the university of cambridge.

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

• Last Updated: Dec 20, 2023 9:47 AM
• URL: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/theses

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A-Z Databases: EThOS: Welcome

Content, coverage & description.

EThOS is a UK wide repository of digitized doctoral theses. It provides full text access to 250,000 theses published in the UK as well as bibliographic records of non digitized theses. A quick and free  registration is required to access the full text content.  

• EThOS e-Theses Online Service This link opens in a new window The British Library digital repository for UK research theses offering a central access point to UK doctoral theses. The majority of universities in the UK are members. You can cross-search over 500,000 theses including those available for immediate download. more... less... Not Searchable via One Search. You must first register on an individual basis with Ethos in order to make requests through the Ethos website. The Ethos site provides further information.

When to use

EThOS is an excellent resource for finding highly specialised and original research. S tudents embarking on a doctoral programme may wish to see examples of successful theses in their own discipline and identify areas of research that have not already been covered.  

Video guide: Using Ethos to find UK theses

University of Kent (2019) Using Ethos to find UK theses.  28 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_c3ZRC5tG0 (Accessed: 13 July 2021).

Basic search

Keep search terms simple, e.g. 'organisational culture', 'business ethics' , ' eosinophilic inflammation', ' diabetes management'. 

Full text availability is indicated by a green open padlock symbol next to the search results.  You can restrict the search results to full text only by checking the box  ' limit search to items available for immediate download' below the search bar.

Search results are listed in order of relevance. You can change the order of results to A to Z by author or year (most recent to oldest and vice versa) by using the 'sort by" option above the search results. 

Click the relevant search result to view the abstract and download the thesis (if applicable). The full text can be accessed via the 'Immediate download'   link when this is available. You will be prompted for the username and password you chose when you registered with EThOS. 

Advanced Search

The advanced search tool enables you to search for a specific thesis by author and title. Use  the drop-down menus next to the search boxes to select your desired search criteria. 

You can also combine search terms using the Boolean operators 'AND', 'OR', 'NOT' (drop-down menu to the left of the search boxes). Example:

'higher education' (box one) AND  'social inequality' (box two)  will instruct  the database to look for theses which contain both search terms in the thesis abstracts or titles. 

'social inequality' (box one) OR  'poverty' (box two) will instruct the database to search for each search term separately. 

'higher education' (box one) AND  'social inequality' (box two) OR  'poverty' (box three) will instruct the database to search for articles which contain the first search term 'higher education' and either the second 'social inequality' or the third 'poverty'. 

Try to keep your search terms simple especially when combining search terms.  EThOS is a highly specialised database and over complicating searches may lead to a zero result outcome. 

Help and Support

Library staff are available to help you to use all of our online databases and electronic journal services. 

Contact us at  [email protected]  or via the  Self Service Port al . 

Accessibility and Copyright Statement

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• Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 8:07 PM
• URL: https://uws-uk.libguides.com/EThOS

Theses and dissertation

• Finding a Sussex thesis
• Finding a UK thesis
• Finding an international thesis
• Help and Support

The Electronic Theses Online System

The Electronic Theses Online System is a service from the British Library that provides online access to the full-text of UK doctoral theses. It contains over 380,000+ records of doctoral theses from UK Higher Education Institutions. Many of these have already been digitised and are available for immediate download.

Can I request UK theses from other universities from the Library?

You no longer request theses from other universities through Sussex University's Interlibrary Requests service - you can access them directly via EThOS.

Do I need to register?

You do not need to register to search the 380,000+ records in the EThOS database, but you will need to register if you would like to download a thesis.

Are immediate downloads available?

If the thesis in which you are interested has already been digitised, you will be able to download it immediately without charge. If the thesis you need has not yet been digitised, there will be a short delay whilst digitisation takes place. You will then be notified by EThOS when the thesis is ready to be downloaded. Once the thesis has been digitised it is then available for immediate download by any other user.

Are all theses digitised?

Some theses cannot be digitised for copyright reasons. If this is the case with the thesis you need, please inform the Interlibrary Requests team who will investigate whether a hard copy can be borrowed directly from the relevant university.

Does this service cost me anything?

On rare occasions you may be asked by EThOS to pay for the digitisation of a thesis. This is because, although the majority of institutions participating in EThOS have agreed to pay for the digitisation of their own theses on request, some institutions have not.

In such cases, the Library will pay the cost of digitisation provided that funding is available. Please contact the Research Support team on Tel: 01273 877941 (int 7941) or Email: [email protected] with the full details of your request.

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• Last Updated: Jul 15, 2024 12:41 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.sussex.ac.uk/theses

Library Guides

Theses and dissertations

Introduction to ethos, about ethos, benefits of using phds, further information.

Benefits to researchers

• Easy access to UK research theses.
• Centralised access to new and retrospectively digitised theses.
• Raised profile for individual authors from wider circulation of their work.
• Support for the principle of Open Access and increased use of publicly-funded research outputs.

Ethos is the British Library digital repository for UK research theses offering a central access point to UK doctoral theses. The majority of universities in the UK are members. You can cross-search over 500,000 theses including those available for immediate download.

Requesting doctoral theses

You must first register on an individual basis with Ethos in order to make requests through the Ethos website. The  Ethos site provides further information .

In some cases the first person (or their institution) to request a thesis is required to pay for the cost of digitisation. In the first instance researchers should refer to the Director of Research and Enterprise or their supervisor in the school about recovering costs from school research funds.

How long will it take?

Immediate download for theses already digitised. For theses not yet digitised you will need to contact the library of the university where the paper thesis is held to request access.

University of Greenwich theses are uploaded to  GALA  and harvested into Ethos allowing you to search and download from from either source.

Visit our theses and dissertations page to find out more about  finding PhD theses  within and beyond the university.

List of institutions taking part in Ethos .

Frequently asked questions about Ethos .

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• Last Updated: Aug 8, 2023 9:35 AM
• URL: https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/theses

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Library Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS)

The British Library provides digitised UK PhD theses online via the Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) .

You can search the site without registering. However, to download a thesis you must register and agree to the terms and conditions of access.

Access to theses which have already been digitised is free. If a thesis has not already been digitised, you may be asked to pay the cost of digitisation (£60) or it may be free. This depends on the policy of the institution supplying the thesis.

The EThOS database holds details of over 400,000 theses. Some of these are available for immediate download. Once you register you can download a thesis or request a digital copy if it is not currently available. If the thesis is not immediately available there will be a short delay while it is digitised.

Theses are supplied by participating institutions free of charge as zipped PDFs. Alternative formats (CD/DVD or paper) are available for an extra charge.

Participating institutions

Some institutions may not be participating in EThOS or may charge for the digitisation of a thesis. If you cannot find the theses you want or do not want to pay for the digitisation of the thesis you can still submit an Inter-Library request . However, some libraries do not lend their theses.

We will not make a request for a thesis already available on EThOS.

International & Masters Theses

You can submit an Inter-Library request for international and Masters theses.

More information

For more information contact the Inter-Library Service or check the EThOS FAQs .

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• Theses & dissertations
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OU theses and dissertations

Online theses.

Are available via Open Research Online .

Print theses

Search for OU theses in the Library Search . To see only print theses click 'In the Walton Hall library' and refine your results to resource type 'Thesis'.

OU staff and research students can  borrow a consultation copy of a thesis (if available). Please contact the Library helpdesk giving the author and title of the thesis.

UK theses and dissertations from EThOS

The Electronic Theses Online System (EThOS) offers free access to the full text of UK theses.

• EThOS offers a one stop online shop providing free access to UK theses
• EThOS digitizes theses on request into PDF format, this may require payment
• EThOS is managed by the British Library in partnership with a number of UK universities
• EThOS is open to all categories of library user

What does this mean to you as a library user?

When you need to access a PhD thesis from another UK based HE institution you should check EThOS to either download a thesis which has already been digitised or to request that a UK thesis be supplied to you.

• For all UK theses EThOS will be the first point of delivery. You can use the online ordering and tracking system direct from EThOS to manage your requests for UK PhD theses, including checking the status of your requests
• As readers you will deal directly with EThOS so will not need to fill in a document delivery request
• OU staff and research students will still be entitled to access non-UK based PhD theses by filling in a document delivery request
• In some cases where EThOS is unable to supply a UK thesis OU staff and research students will be able to access it by filling in a conventional document delivery request. The thesis will be supplied through direct loan
• The EThOS system is both faster and cheaper than the previous British Theses service which was based on microfilm
• The British Library no longer arranges interlibrary loans for UK PhD theses
• Interlibrary Loan procedures for other types of request from the British Library (articles and books for example) will remain the same

If you have any queries about using EThOS contact the Document Delivery Team ( [email protected] or the Library Helpdesk ).

Note 13/03/2024: The British Library is continuing to experience a major technology outage affecting its websites and other online systems, due to a Cyber attack. as a result access to ETHOS might not be possible until the issue is fixed. 

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British Library: EThOS (Electronic Theses Online Services)

EThOS is the UK’s national open access thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses. There are approximately 350,000 records relating to theses awarded by over 120 institutions. Around 120,000 of these also provide access to the full text thesis, either via download from the EThOS database or via links to the institution’s own repository. Of the remaining 250,000 records dating back to at least 1800, three quarters are available to be ordered for scanning through the EThOS digitisation-on-demand facility.

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Ordering a British thesis via EThOS

You can now download some British PhD theses directly from the British Library EThOS service.

• Any theses that have already been digitised or are available on the owning University's repository are available to download free of charge.
• Any theses that are not yet available can be ordered via EThOS but payment may be required for these - see below for details.

Searching for your thesis

• Go to EThOS
• Click on the 'Login / Register' option. Once you have created an account you can log in at any time with the email address and password you registered. Registration is free.
• When you log in, you will be directed to a page headed 'Your basket'. Click on ' New Search' at the top of the page.
• Enter your search in the box and click 'Search'. Searching tips! You can limit your search to items which are available for immediate download by ticking the box under the search box. Use the Advanced Search for a wider range of search options, e.g. limiting results to a particular University.
• A list of theses which match your search term will appear. Click on the title of the thesis you require to see further details.

Is the thesis available?

Once you have clicked on the title of thesis you will see one of the following options in the Availability of Full Text box:

Access from institution

If the thesis is available via the owning University's institutional repository, there will be a link to take you to the full text.

Access from EThOS

If there is a digitised version available in Ethos you will see a Download button. To access the thesis;

• Click on 'Download'
• Tick the check box to confirm you agree to the terms and conditions
• Click on ' Select All' and then 'Download'

If there is no digitised version available you are offered the option to pay for the cost of digitising the thesis - the current price is £53.10;

• Click on 'Check scan fee and order a copy'
• Choose the delivery option you require and click 'Add to Basket' (the default is a digital copy for download, but you can order paper / CD and bound copies)
• Tick the check box and click on 'Confirm'
• You need to tick the check box to confirm you agree to the terms and conditions then click on 'Create Order' - you will be asked to enter your payment card details
• The British Library team will arrange to have the thesis digitised and will send you a link to download it as soon as it is available.

What if I can't find the thesis I want?

You can enquire about a thesis whose details are not already in Ethos by completing their speculative request form

If you encounter any difficulties, please Contact inter-library loans

• Finding theses held at Reading and beyond

Library Services

Here we explain how to access copies of research theses that UCL Library Services holds. There is also an increasing number of open access thesis repositories available online.

Theses held in UCL Library

Open access repositories containing the full text of selected research theses.

• Indexes of completed theses

Obtaining copies of research theses

• Open Access for Thesis: how to deposit

University of London theses

The Library holds a copy of most research degree theses completed by students registered at UCL and awarded by the UoL, including many from students at Schools and Institutes prior to merger with UCL. Theses are listed by author on the Library catalogue, Explore : they are shelved in our off-campus Store and may be retrieved for consultation (24-hour notice required) by completing the store request form or via the request link on Explore. Theses are not available for loan, either to individuals or via interlibrary loan.

Some UoL research degree theses submitted by UCL students in the areas of classical, Germanic, Latin American studies; history and law are not held: check the UoL School of Advanced Study catalogue for availability.

UCL started to award its own degrees to students registering from 2007/2008. Print copies of research theses are catalogued by author in Explore and shelved in Store; electronic versions are in many cases available on open access in UCL Discovery .

If you wish to access a thesis recorded in UCL Discovery for which the full text is subject to an access restriction or not present, it is best to contact the author directly to request a copy privately.  If this is not possible, please contact the UCL Open Access Team .

If a thesis is not available via UCL Discovery or EThOS (see below) then it might be possible to obtain a copy from our interlibrary loan service via your home university interlibrary loan department. Please contact your university library and ask them to enquire about this service with UCL's Interlibrary Loan service; e-mail [email protected] for more information.

The Library does not normally hold print copies of any theses in the following categories:

• MA, MSc, MRes, LLM theses.
• Diploma theses.
• Undergraduate dissertations.
• Theses submitted at other universities or colleges.

Further information is available in the Support for dissertations and research projects LibGuide .

A growing number of open access thesis repositories is becoming available including:

• ProQuest , holds many full text theses. You can search for dissertations and theses there.
• UCL Discovery , UCL's open access research repository, includes theses alongside other UCL publications. You can search for theses, or browse a list.
• EThOS , a database run by the British Library that aims to record all UK doctoral theses, with links to access an electronic version of the full text where available. The digitisation of theses that only exist in print form can often be requested, depending on the awarding institution and for a fee: UCL supports this process for UCL-held theses.
• The DART-Europe E-theses Portal , holds details of open access electronic theses stored in repositories across Europe.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations , includes links to a number of international search tools and portals.

Video - Using PhD theses in research: EThOS 

YouTube Widget Placeholder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8X8ai6xN-4

Indexes of completed theses (access available to members of UCL only)

Proquest dissertations & theses global (pqdt global).

PQDT Global contains over a million full-text dissertations and theses from 1861 onwards that are available for download in PDF format. The collection includes PQDT UK and Ireland content.

Many UK universities now decline to lend research theses. You may visit the awarding university or, increasingly, obtain an electronic version either from the university itself or from EThOS (see above).

Theses awarded by universities worldwide may be requested via UCL Library Services Interlending and Document Supply service . The normal charge for this service applies. Please note that theses are never available for loan: they must be consulted on Library premises only.

Open access for theses: how to deposit

Candidates for UCL research degrees are required to deposit an electronic copy of their final thesis in UCL's Research Publications Service (RPS), to be made open access in UCL's institutional repository, UCL Discovery . Theses are amongst the most highly-downloaded items in UCL Discovery . Making your thesis open access will mean that it is accessible worldwide, to anyone who wants to read it.

It is also possible, but not mandatory, to submit a print copy of your thesis to the Library for storage and preservation if you wish. We recommend submitting the print copy in cases where the electronic copy cannot be made openly available online in UCL Discovery, but you wish the print copy to be accessible to members of the Library.

Please refer to our guidance on how to deposit  for further information on the submission procedures.

Finding UK theses

The Bodleian Libraries hold copies of some UK theses. These are listed on SOLO  and may be ordered for delivery to a reading room. 

These theses are not all catalogued in a uniform way. Adding the word 'thesis' as a keyword in SOLO may help, but this is unlikely to find all theses, and may find published works based upon theses as well as unpublished theses.

Card catalogue  

Some early theses accepted for higher degrees and published before 1973 are held in the Bodleian Libraries but are not yet catalogued on SOLO. These holdings can be found in the Foreign Dissertations Catalogue card index.

To request access to material in the catalogue, speak to library staff at the Main Enquiry Desk in the Lower Reading Room of the Bodleian Old Library, or contact us via  [email protected]  or phone (01865 277162). 

Other finding aids

Proquest dissertations & theses.

You can use ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global  to locate theses accepted for higher degrees at universities in the UK and Ireland since 1716. The service also provides abstracts of these theses.

Library Hub Discover

You can use Library Hub Discover to search the online catalogues of some of the UK’s largest university research libraries to see if a thesis is held by another UK library.

The British Library

The British Library online catalogue provides access to digital doctoral theses held in UK institutional repositories. To access these documents, search for a thesis and then click on the link "View Online - External Resource Available" (in green) just above the "I want this" section.

UTREES - University Theses in Russian, Soviet, and East European Studies 1907–

UTREES is a bibliographical database of research in the British Isles. The database has been continuously extended from the printed volume, most recently with 202 recent theses added in 2021. The database lists details of over 6,000 doctoral and selected masters’ theses from British and Irish universities. It covers research relating to Eastern and Central Europe, Russia and the area of the former USSR, including Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia.

Individual universities

You can also go to individual UK universities' sites for their online theses repositories.

You can purchase copies of Cambridge University theses through the Cambridge University Library's online order form . There is a standard charge of £75 (plus VAT and postage). White Rose ETheses Online is an online repository of doctoral theses from the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. It is part of a national and international network of open access online databases which promote access to research outputs.   

Ordering UK theses

You can request theses from other UK universities as an inter-library request .

Please note that it may not be possible to obtain some theses due to restrictions on lending placed by the author of the thesis or the institution at which it is held.

PhD theses: Home

You can search for records of LBS theses via LBS Research Online, our library catalogue and EThOS. NB: LBS doctoral theses are subject to a ten year embargo .

LBS Research Online

LBS Research Online is the London Business School institutional repository. As well as theses, it contains research produced by our faculty.

Search LBS Research Online

Library catalogue

In the advanced search mode, select type = thesis from the first drop-down box. For print copies of theses, you will need to request access by email.

Search the catalogue

EThOS is the UK's online national thesis service, run by the British Library. It contains approximately 500,000 records.

Search EThOS

Ethos is down at the moment while the BL recovers from a cyber attack.

Need help? Please email [email protected]

• Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 12:42 PM
• URL: https://library.london.edu/theses

• What's on
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• British Library

Using the Library

We're a bit different to your local library. You can't take books out, but you can use our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire for personal study and to access our collection. All you need is a free Reader Pass.

Our users include academic researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate students and members of the public.

We're continuing to experience a major technology outage as a result of a cyber-attack . At the moment, our Reading Rooms in London and Yorkshire are open, but access to our collection and online resources is limited.

Consult the collection

We've released a searchable online version of our main catalogue, which contains the majority of our printed collections, but not everything is included.

Read our collection item FAQs below or watch our 'how to' video for more details.

What would you like to do?

Get your Reader Pass

A Reader Pass gives free access to our Reading Rooms and collection. Anyone can get a Reader Pass, you’ll just need to bring some identification to Reader Registration in London or Yorkshire.

Study in our Reading Rooms

All our Reading Rooms are open for personal study, with access to free Wi-Fi and limited access to collection items.

To use our Reading Rooms you will need your free Reader Pass.

Access our collection

Search our online catalogue to find the majority of books and special collections held at St Pancras and limited collection items at Boston Spa.

You will need to come onsite to order, and please note not everything is available. Please contact us to check availability.

Use our online resources

Our full website is currently unavailable, in the meantime there are some useful resources below. You can access these from home and you don't need a Reader Pass.

Speak to one of our team

Our Reference Services team are on hand to answer your research queries and advise on collection item availability. We're receiving a high volume of enquiries at the moment so please bear with us. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Frequently asked questions

Reader registration.

If you have a question about our registration process, please email [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

How do I become a Reader?

Please visit Reader Registration in St Pancras or Boston Spa to be issued with your Reader Pass.

We’re now able to issue photographic passes again, and these will last for one year. The pass will allow you to use our Reading Rooms for personal study, use our free Wi-Fi, access items on the shelves and order collection items to consult.

If you have previously been issued with a temporary paper pass, you will need to revisit Reader Registration to exchange it for a photographic pass.

Please note you need to be over 18 to get a Reader Pass, and you must bring identification with you when you visit Reader Registration.

My Reader Pass has expired, how can I renew it?

Please visit Reader Registration in St Pancras or Boston Spa to be issued with your Reader Pass. This pass will last for one year. Your pass will allow you to use our Reading Rooms for personal study, use our free Wi-Fi, access items on the shelves and order collection items to consult.

Please bring your expired pass with you to Reader Registration, as your new pass will need to carry your expired Reader number to order any collection items.

You must bring identification with you when you visit Reader Registration.

I have pre-registered as a Reader but haven't completed my registration, what do I do?

Please bring your pre-registration confirmation email with you to Reader Registration, as your photographic pass will need to carry your Reader number to order any collection items.

What ID do I need to bring to register as a Reader?

At the moment we can only issue one-year photographic passes.

Whether you are renewing, replacing or getting a new pass, please bring:

• a state-issued photo ID, printed with your photo, name and address (driving license or national ID card) or
• two separate documents, one showing your name and one showing your home address.

Types of documents we can accept include:

• State-issued documents e.g. passport
• Bills and financial documents
• NHS documentation e.g. NHS appointment letters and prescriptions
• DVLA documentation or correspondence
• Residency e.g. tenancy agreements.

Please note:

• We can accept original documents, photos, online versions or scanned copies of the documents above. Please ensure all text is legible
• Some driving licenses and national identity cards do not show your address. If yours doesn't, we can't accept it as your sole ID
• All documents need to be valid, or the paperwork issued within the last 12 months
• If necessary, it's up to you to provide official translations for foreign documents
• If you would like to bring a guest aged over 18 into our Reading Rooms, they will also need a Reader Pass. If you require a carer or have an adult dependent, they will also need a Reader Pass.
• Unfortunately, we can't issue a Reader Pass without seeing the ID listed above. Without a Reader Pass, you won't be able to use our Reading Rooms.

Can I pre-register for my Reader Pass before I visit the Library?

At the moment you can only get a Reader Pass by visiting the Reader Registration in St Pancras or Boston Spa, and you can’t pre-register online.

With this Reader Pass you will be able to use the Reading Rooms for personal study, use our free Wi-Fi, access items on the shelves, and order collection items to consult.

My temporary paper pass is still valid, what should I do?

You can continue using your temporary paper pass until it expires.

If you have a temporary white paper pass but you need to order collection items, you can revisit Reader Registration to exchange it for a photographic pass before its expiry date.

If you have a temporary blue paper pass you can continue to use it until it expires, and then exchange it for a photographic pass.

With a photographic pass you will be able to use the Reading Rooms for personal study, use our free Wi-Fi, access items on the shelves, and order collection items to consult.

You must bring identification with you when you visit Reader Registration, even when replacing your temporary pass. You may want to consider visiting the Reader Registration in the afternoons, when it is likely to be quieter.

Reading Rooms and our collection

All our Reading Rooms are open for personal study, and you can now search an online version of our main catalogue . Please read our FAQs for more information about how to search for and order collection items at the moment.

Are the Reading Rooms open?

All of our Reading Rooms are open during their normal opening hours , for personal study, and for accessing books and other items from our collection, subject to availability and certain restrictions. See FAQs below for more details. Digital and audio-visual collections are not currently available.

When will more services be restored?

The cyber-attack caused substantial damage that is complex and challenging to repair, and includes the installation of a completely new computing infrastructure for the entire Library.

As we approach the new academic year our CEO, Sir Roly Keating, has issued a new blog about the rebuild of our systems and services.

Further improvements and restoration of services you can expect in the coming months:

• Access to more collection items held in Boston Spa – August: Due to technical work taking longer than expected, material stored in our Additional Storage Building in Boston Spa should now be available by the end of August, rather than July. Access to materials held in the National Newspaper Building is more complex and will take longer. In the meantime, you can find a wide range of newspaper titles available in microform in the Newsroom at St Pancras.
• Digital collections acquired through Non-Print Legal Deposit (NPLD) – September: A solution has now been developed to enable the restoration of access to Non-Print Legal Deposit content to our partner libraries in the Legal Deposit network: the National Library of Wales, the National Library of Scotland, the Bodleian Libraries, Cambridge University Library and the library of Trinity College Dublin. The technical solution will be in place by early September, after which, each library in the network will restore access arrangements in their own reading rooms, once they have the capacity to do so.
• Learning websites and digitised manuscripts – September: We hope to begin to restore some of our unique collection of digitised manuscripts, and our popular Learning resources, including Discovering Literature, in September
• Remote ordering – September: An interim remote collection ordering method will be in place by the start of the new academic year in September, and we’ll share more about this process once it’s in place.

How can I find out what's currently available?

There are a few ways to explore what's in our collection and find out what's currently available:

• You can now use a searchable online version of our main catalogue . This catalogue contains records of the majority of our printed collection and some freely available online resources
• You can consult printed catalogues in the Reading Rooms
• You can work with our Reading Room staff on-site to search for items in our special collections, such as archives and manuscripts
• You can search Jisc Library Hub Discover , WorldCat , The National Archives and The Archives Hub for records of items held in our collection, and see if they are held elsewhere.

The following table can help you find the collection types you require:

We're working hard to expand access to all of our collection as soon as we can, and will update our website and social media channels with more information.

Online ordering is not currently possible, so you will need to come to the Reading Rooms to order your collection items. Please contact our Reference Services Team before you visit to check what you need will be available, by contacting us .

What's in the online catalogue?

The online catalogue is a searchable version of our main catalogue of books and other printed material. It contains records relating to the following collection item categories:

How do I order collection items in your St Pancras Reading Rooms?

To order an item you'll need to place a manual order in one of our Reading Rooms by completing a paper order form. Our staff can help you with this.

To identify the items you need, you can use our online catalogue to search for the item you require. If a record is marked ‘Not available’, this means the item is unavailable at the moment. If a record is marked ‘Should be available’, you will be able to see a shelfmark reference. You can take note of the shelfmark, because you will need it to place a manual order in the Reading Rooms by completing a paper order form.

We can’t guarantee that items marked ‘Should be available’ are available to order; they may be in use by another Reader or restricted for other reasons. To check the availability before you visit, contact our Reference Services team by contacting us .

In the Reading Rooms you can also consult our printed catalogues, which contain items not currently included in the online catalogue.

To see if items are held elsewhere, you can search Jisc Library Hub Discover , WorldCat , The National Archives and The Archives Hub .

Orders for same-day delivery close at 16.00.

How can I find out if a collection item is available before I visit?

Before you visit, you can use our online catalogue to search for the items you require. If a record is marked ‘Not available’, this means the item is unavailable at the moment. If a record is marked ‘Should be available’, you will be able to see a shelfmark reference. Please take note of the shelfmark as you will need it to place a manual order in the Reading Rooms by completing a paper order form.

How quickly will my orders be delivered to the Reading Room?

We will endeavour to deliver your order within 70 minutes. However, please bear in mind that in some cases it may take longer if our staff have to do extra checks to ensure that the items you ordered are available. Orders for same-day delivery close at 16.00.

Can I order collection items to your Boston Spa Reading Room?

We’ve now restarted the transfer of collection items between our two sites, which has expanded the range of collection materials available for you to order. This means Readers in Boston Spa can access material stored in St Pancras, and vice versa. This has restored access to material that can be retrieved manually from our stores in Boston Spa, but as we are currently unable to access our automated stores, not everything is available.

If your item is being transferred from another site please allow two working days for delivery. You still need to visit in person and complete paper forms to order collection items at the moment.

We recommend contacting our Boston Spa Reading Room team before you visit to check what you need will be available, by emailing [email protected] .

We plan to restore access to more collection items stored in Boston Spa, including those held in our automated stores, over the coming months.

Can I access special collections such as archives and manuscripts?

The majority of special collections held at St Pancras are now available, including restricted material. Our specialist archive and manuscripts catalogue is not online at the moment, please contact us using LibAnswers or LibChat (via the green Ask Us tab on the right of the catalogue) so we can help you find what you need and advise on its availability.

Where can I consult restricted material?

Asian & African: India Office Records and Private Papers, Asian and African Collections (manuscripts and printed items) and the Visual Arts collection (by appointment in the Print Room)

Manuscripts: Restricted western manuscripts

Rare Books & Music: Restricted printed books and restricted music collections

Maps: Restricted maps collections

To access restricted material you must have a Reader Pass issued after 21 March 2024. If your pass was issued before this date, please visit Reader Registration to replace it .

How do I arrange to view restricted material?

You will need to submit a request either in person in one of the special collections Reading Rooms (Asian & African, Manuscripts, Rare Books & Music, and Maps), or via LibAnswers or LibChat (via the green Ask Us tab on the right of the catalogue).

If you wish to consult Select manuscripts in the Manuscripts Reading Room, you will need to provide a “Letter of introduction”. Please ask via LibAnswers or LibChat if you need more information about this.

Approval to consult restricted material may take up to 3 working days (excluding Saturdays) and making an item available might take longer. We therefore recommend you plan your visit to the Reading Rooms carefully.

Please note self-service photography is not permitted for restricted items.

Once your request to access special collections is approved, we will let you know how to order and view your item

Can I access your sound and vision collection?

How up to date is the online catalogue.

The catalogue is a snapshot as of April 2023, and we will not be adding any new records to it for the time being. Please see the table above for details of the categories of collection data it includes.

Is this version of the online catalogue just an interim solution?

Yes - we will ultimately bring back a fully integrated catalogue with online ordering and other features. However, this will take some time to implement so in the meantime we will work iteratively to improve the service we can offer to Readers using this version of the main catalogue as a basis.

How many items can I order?

You can order up to six collection items per day. Please note that as usual it is possible for only four manuscripts to be in process at any one time.

Can I increase my daily order limit?

Please speak to a member of our team in the Reading Rooms for help with this.

Can I order the collection items I require in advance of coming to the Reading Rooms?

We hope to implement a system for this soon but unfortunately it's not possible at the moment.

Can I reserve my items to view again?

Yes, you can reserve your items for up to three working days. Please speak to a member of our team in the Reading Room for help with this.

Can I extend the reservation period?

That may be possible, please speak to a member of our team in the Reading Room for help with this.

Can I consult material on the shelves in the Reading Room?

Yes, you can access collection items held on the open shelves in the Reading Rooms.

Can I access your digital collection?

Most of our digital collection and electronic resources are currently unavailable, but some freely available online resources are included in our online catalogue.

You can also access the resources below from home without a Reader Pass:

• search HathiTrust or Archive.org for older and out-of-copyright digitised material
• use Google Books to search a huge range of digitised content from our collection
• access 1 million images of items from our collection on Flickr
• search millions of newspaper articles via the British Newspaper Archives
• explore Artstor's digital library.

We plan to restore access to a range of other digital and digitised content over the next few months.

Can I access online services in the Reading Rooms?

• digital content including electronic resources
• online and advance ordering
• Reading Room PCs.

Why do I have to surrender my Reader Pass in the specialist Reading Rooms when collection items are issued to me?

To help us maintain collection security, we need to monitor the collection items consulted in the specialist Reading Rooms.

What time do I need to return the special collection items I'm consulting?

We would appreciate if you can return these items to the Issue Desk 45 minutes before closing time.

Will I be able to take photographs from special collection items?

Please ask our staff in the Reading Rooms who will be able to assist you.

Can I access the Print Room?

Yes, prints, drawings, photographs and related visual material held in the Visual Art collection can be consulted in the Print Room located in the Asian and African Reading Room. The Print Room is open by appointment only on Monday and Friday between 10.30 and 12.30. Please contact the Visual Arts team via email ( [email protected] ) to check the availability of required items and to book an appointment. Please note that advanced booking is required.

Can I access UK doctoral theses?

Our online catalogue now provides access to digital doctoral theses held in UK institutional repositories. To access these documents, search for a thesis and then click on a title of interest to view the full details for that work. The link can be found under the section labelled "View Online - External Resource Available" (in green) just above the "I want this" section (in red) at the bottom of the page.

Are the Eccles Centre Fellowships going ahead in 2024?

The Eccles Institute has unfortunately decided to suspend the Visiting Fellowship programme for 2024-25. We know that this will be disappointing, and this decision has not been taken lightly. We anticipate that there will be some opportunities for Eccles Institute support after key Library services have resumed.

How can I access high-res images of items from your collection?

At the moment, most of our digital collection and electronic resources are unavailable, but you can use alternate online resources including our Flickr and Images Online sites. You can also find digitised resources on a number of our blogs , and on the IDP website .

We can supply hi res images for all images that are available on Images Online, and are working on adding some additional images without captions/metadata that have been kindly given by previous users.

If you have any questions about the image you'd like to use please email [email protected] and we'll come back to you as soon as we can.

If you have previously been supplied images by the Library please get in touch as we can redistribute them to users who may need them.

British Library On Demand

We are now offering an interim manual interlibrary loan and scan from print service to business account holders. We'll be contacting account holders with more details about this service. British Library On Demand from digital collections and some of our print collections remains unavailable. We're working on restoring the whole service as soon as we can.

In the meantime:

• all requests submitted before Saturday 28 October and in our system will be cancelled, with the option for you to reapply once our service is up and running should items still be required
• renewal charges will not apply, and you can continue to return your items to us when no longer required.

I have an outstanding request, when will this be fulfilled?

All requests in our system will be cancelled, with the option for you to reapply once our service is up and running, should items still be required.

Should I still send my items back?

Yes, you can continue to return your items to us when no longer required.

Can I renew my items?

Renewal charges will not apply, so you can keep hold of your items if you need them for longer and send them back to us when no longer required.

Can I request an interlibrary loan?

We are now offering an interim, manual interlibrary loan and scan from print service to business account holders. We’ll be contacting account holders with more details about this service.

Access digitised content

Most of our digital collection and electronic resources are currently unavailable, but some freely available online resources are included in our online catalogue. See our collection item FAQs above for more information about what's included.

Out-of-copyright material

Search HathiTrust or Archive.org for older and out-of-copyright digitised material.

Access 1 million images of items from our collection on Flickr . Find and buy images from our unique collections on our images online site.

Google Books

Use this filtered search to access over 700,000 digitised books from our collection on Google Books.

Search millions of newspaper articles via the British Newspaper Archives .

Theatrical playbills

The British Library Playbills collection gives access to 80,000 theatre posters. It includes high resolution images with searchable text of English, Scottish, and Irish playbills made between 1600 and 1902 (mostly 19th century).

Other available resources

Research repository.

Search our open access Research Repository for outputs from our staff, open access data sets, 3D models of collection items and content from other heritage organisations.

English Short Title Catalogue

Access a temporary search interface for the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC), to search over 480,000 pre-1801 records, many with links to Early English Books Online (EEBO) . Created by Nikolai Vogler for the collaborative research project Print & Probability .

Open University

Freely available eresources are listed by The Open University .

Journal articles

Anyone can sign up for a free Jstor account. Creating an account gives access to 100 free articles per month from their range of journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.

Artstor digital library

Explore Artstor's digital library of images, videos, documents, and audio files.

Endangered Archive Programme

Look at digitised collections items from around the world through our Endangered Archive Programme (EAP) .

British National Bibliography (BNB)

The British National Bibliography (BNB) records the publishing activity of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland since 1950. The BNB is available on the Share Family beta portal . To request a CIP record, please contact BDS . To request a weekly PDF of new additions to the BNB, please contact [email protected] .

Our website content

Our full website is unavailable, but it is possible to find some of our content using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to search for archived copies of our website.

MARC and ISIL assignment service

Our MARC organization code and ISIL assignment service is still available for libraries and related organizations, such as archives and museums. If you are such an organization and require a MARC organization code or an ISIL, please contact [email protected] and we can assign those identifiers for you.

ISSN UK Centre applications and confirmation

To submit an application for ISSN assignment please request an application form from [email protected] . For conversion of ISSN records from provisional to confirmed status, please send copies of the first issue of your publication to the ISSN UK Centre, digital copies to [email protected] and print to ISSN UK Centre, British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7BQ.

Asian and African Studies

Americas and Oceania Collections

Collection Care

Digital Scholarship

Endangered Archives

English and Drama

European Studies

Innovation and enterprise

Knowledge Matters

Maps and Views

Medieval Manuscripts

Social Science

Sound and Vision

The Newsroom

UK Web Archive

Untold lives

Other services

Find more information about other services at the Library, including Public Lending Right (PLR), legal deposit and the International Library Leaders programme.

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UK theses and the British Library EThOS service: from supply on demand to repository linking

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Content area

Introduction

Until a few years ago, one strand of the British Library's Document Supply Service was the British Thesis Service. This service offered an interlibrary loan and supply service for UK doctoral theses.

In operation for several decades, universities across the UK would send copies of their theses to the British Library at Boston Spa; the document supply service would make a microfilm or microfiche copy and then return the original thesis to the awarding university. The surrogate copy formed the thesis loan collection, and the British Library would lend the fiche - or supply a copy - in response to document supply requests.

Legal Deposit legislation in the UK[1] requires publishers to deposit a copy of every UK publication with the British Library for archival purposes. Doctoral theses are not covered by this Legal Deposit law, and there is no national mandate for thesis deposit. Each Higher Education institution develops its own policy for students submitting their theses, and for making them available to other researchers. These access options can include free open access direct from institutional repositories, interlibrary loan, scanned copies supplied in direct response to a request or a requirement for researchers to visit the library of the awarding institution in person to view the print copy held in the library's store.

The British Library's thesis collection (consisting of microfilm surrogates) was the closest thing the UK had to a national thesis collection; print theses have never been collected by the British Library.

In 2009, the EThOS electronic thesis service[2] was launched: a digitisation and supply service that entirely replicated the British Thesis Service, only in electronic print rather than print:

Institutions continued to send their theses in response to requests.

Microfilming was replaced by scanning.

The "supply" of a microfiche copy was replaced by the ability for the researcher to download the item direct from EThOS.

While the format of the copies had changed, the core idea remained: the British Thesis collection (now digitised) held by the British Library document supply service was the one-stop shop for UK theses. They could be ordered by other libraries or users, and the Library would "supply" them by making surrogate copies available from a single source, often referred to in early EThOS communications as...

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Theses FAQs

Do i have to deposit an e-thesis.

• If you started your PhD on or after 2nd October 2017, submission of a single digital copy is required (see Paragraph 16.1). These candidates may also submit a single hard copy if they choose. For anyone already enrolled prior to this date, submission of a digital copy is preferred, but candidates retain the right to submit hard copies should they choose.

Why should I deposit a digital copy?

• Enhance your academic standing by enabling easy access to your thesis, widening your audience and increasing citations.
• Preserve your research in a single, searchable space with a permanent URL.
• Help demonstrate the breadth of research carried out at Birkbeck.
• Enable easier detection of plagiarism.
• Share information about your thesis on EThOS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
• Save on binding costs.

Why does Birkbeck want me to deposit a digital copy?

• It demonstrates the breadth of research at Birkbeck.
• It secures your research in a central, searchable archive.
• It accelerates the dissemination of research.

What happens to my thesis once I send it?

• Your thesis is added to BIROn, Birkbeck's institutional repository.
• BIROn is harvested by EThOS , the British Library’s Electronic Thesis Online Service, which holds digital copies of more than 250,000 theses from UK institutions.
• Unless embargoed, the full text of the thesis becomes openly accessible on the web . Metadata (and possibly full-text depending on the content aggregator) becomes available through services like Worldcat, and repository search engines like SHERPA, OPENDOAR, and BASE.

What is Open Access?

• “ Open Access (OA) is free, immediate, permanent online access to the full text of research for anyone, webwide.” Contributors give permission to keep their work in a current format and to freely distribute electronic copies of it - nothing else. There is no assignment of copyright to the college or any of its constituents.

Doesn’t OA enable plagiarism?

• Digital files can be compared more easily than hard copies. As a result, the detection of plagiarism is actually easier, helping to protect your intellectual property.

Is depositing equivalent to publishing?

• No. If you wish to publish some or all of your thesis, but would still like to make it available via BIROn, you should speak to your prospective publisher for guidance on their copyright requirements. It is possible to restrict access to the full-text on BIROn to comply with this.

How do embargoes work?

• Candidates who wish to have their thesis embargoed must complete an embargo request form . Embargoes are usually for two years. If approved, the hard copy is not visible on the catalogue, and will not be viewable at the library. The digital copy will display only metadata about the thesis; the full-text file remains locked until the embargo expires (unless you arrange an extension, or a permanent embargo.) If you have successfully arranged an embargo, please state this clearly in your submission email.

What about extended or permanent embargoes?

• The current process for extending embargoes will apply for digital theses. Extension applications should be submitted via the Research Student Unit. If successful, the information will be passed to us to extend the embargo.

Which draft of the thesis should I deposit?

• You should only send your final , post-examination version, with any required corrections completed. BIROn is not a means of providing copies for examination. Examination copies should be submitted in the usual manner.

What is Third Party copyright...?

• When your work goes onto BIROn, it will become openly accessible on the internet. If you have used material created by others this becomes available too, which may infringe their copyright. Fair dealing applies where third party material is used for review or criticism , education and research , or where a less than substantial portion is used, but this is dependent on the context. As a rule of thumb, assume that work (particularly images and long extracts of text) is copyrighted, and seek permission to reproduce it. If possible, check as you write so that issues do not arise just before submission. The IPO publishes guidelines on whether you might require a licence , and guidelines locating copyright owners and organisations . You can use this template letter for permission requests, and you should consider keeping a paper or digital trail in the event of a dispute.

...and why is it important?

• It is your responsibility to ensure, in advance of completing your submission form, that you are not freely disseminating third parties’ work without permission. The College will not accept responsibility for any copyright infringement which may occur as a result of the dissemination of your digital thesis through BIROn. There is a clause in the submission form (11) specifically soliciting your acknowledgement that the thesis does not contravene third parties’ copyright by its dissemination through BIROn. If it does, you can request that the full-text file is locked until permission has been granted by completing the digital thesis third party declaration form . BIROn has a take-down policy when notified of rights infringement, but the responsibility for checking copyright rests with you.

What if I can't clear the third party objects in my thesis?

• If you have not been able to secure clearance for third party copyright, you still need to submit the full version of your thesis at minimum, along with a completed third party declaration form (see above) to ensure we are aware the digital copy needs to be locked. The full version will be archived as the copy of record, but will not be openly accessible (see How do Embargoes Work? ) It is up to you to make clear which version you are sending using the file-naming format guidelines. If you want to, you can also submit a public version with the third party copyright excised. This will sit alongside the full version but will be openly accessible (unless embargoed for another reason such as imminent publication, etc.) You can use this flowchart and table to determine if your thesis will be Open Access.

What’s the point in submitting digitally if it won’t be Open Access?

• Many of the benefits stated above still apply, even to theses where the full text is not openly accessible.

Which format should my files be in?

• College guidelines are available on layout and presentation of hard-copy theses. For digital theses, the standard file format is PDF. Any elements of the thesis created using software like Access, Excel and PowerPoint should be incorporated into the main text, in the body of a single PDF file. If you are unable to incorporate separate elements into a single file, they can be submitted for upload as separate files, as long as they are all included in the same email. BIROn can host multimedia files for video, picture and sound formats, but these are also subject to third party copyright. Where possible, please limit video file sizes to less than 4gb . Please note that the library is not responsible for providing software to access “legacy” file types should these fall out of use in the long-term.

How do I submit my e-thesis?

• Submission to BIROn is via the official email address . This is for submission only and messages sent to it cannot be replied to.
• Once submitted, you will receive a delivery report acknowledging receipt. Your thesis will then enter the BIROn workflow.
• This is the only means of submission for digital theses . As submission of two copies is required, if one of your submissions is a digital copy and you fail to submit via the official email address, it can have serious consequences.

How should I name my files?

• You should submit the PDF version of your thesis in the following filename format: “Version-Year/Surname/Initials/Degree/BBK.pdf”
• For the full version, prefix the filename with “Full version-” i.e. “ Fullversion-2011SmithJRphdBBK.pdf ”
• For any public version, prefix the filename with “Public version-” i.e. “ Publicversion-2011SmithJRphdBBK.pdf ”

Should I include the signature page?

• We do NOT recommend you include this, as a scan of your signature could be misappropriated by others. You can use PDF editing tools to delete the page, or clip the part of the page containing the signature.

Why aren't older theses available on BIROn?

• It is extremely difficult to check and clear copyright permissions for older theses. With this in mind, BIROn will only host digital theses which were either already on BIROn, or submitted from 2012 onwards. If you are looking for an older Birkbeck thesis in digital format, please look at the British Library's EThOS project.

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, a new electronic service for uk theses: access transformed by ethos.

Interlending & Document Supply

ISSN : 0264-1615

Article publication date: 21 August 2007

The paper aims to describe recent moves to establish a UK electronic thesis service. The existing arrangements for access to UK doctoral theses are not seen as ideal or sustainable. A range of stakeholders have come together in recent years to invest in an alternative. The resulting service model is one that is relevant to higher education across the UK and beyond.

Design/methodology/approach

The EThOS service model is a partnership between the British Library as the service provider and UK universities, and includes technical, legal, business and operational aspects. It has been achieved by a series of development projects undertaken since 2002, culminating now in the impending transition from prototype to live service.

The EThOS service model includes a range of partnership options to suit the varied requirements of UK higher education institutions. The main ambition of the model is to make electronic theses available open access via a financially viable and sustainable model. The core of the model is a “central hub”, offering discovery, digitisation and preservation functions, working with institutions, in part via their institutional repositories.

Practical implications

It is hoped that most UK higher education institutions will sign up for EThOS and benefit from this shift to both electronic theses and open access. Many have already indicated that they will do so.

Originality/value

The value of the EThOS service is likely to be considerable. Where theses are available open access, their use escalates. EThOS will enable UK theses to be more widely accessed, read, used and cited worldwide. Authors, institutions and the UK all benefit from this.

• Digital libraries
• Digital storage
• Archives management
• United Kingdom

Troman, A. , Jacobs, N. and Copeland, S. (2007), "A new electronic service for UK theses: access transformed by EThOS", Interlending & Document Supply , Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 157-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/02641610710780836

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Minnesota’s Jews celebrate as their ‘mensch’ Gov. Tim Walz enters the national spotlight

On Oct. 9, as the toll of Hamas’ attack on Israel was still being tallied, Tim Walz stood before a room of Jewish Minnesotans and condemned the invasion of two days earlier. 

“If you did not find moral clarity on Saturday morning, and you find yourself waiting to think about what you needed to say, you need to reevaluate where you’re at,” the governor said at the event, which was co-hosted by the local Jewish Community Relations Council.

Those words resonated with Steve Hunegs, the JCRC’s executive director. He also said they tracked with Walz’s record.

“He’s a presence and well familiar in the community, and strongly supportive of Jewish community interests and a powerful United States-Israel relationship,” Hunegs told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “We’ve had a very good working relationship with him over the years, as well as his staff.”

Since Walz was tapped as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee on Tuesday morning, Jewish conversations have been dominated by whether his selection, over Josh Shapiro, is a sign of antisemitism in the party. 

But Walz’s Jewish constituents in Minnesota say their governor’s elevation means the ticket will have another candidate with strong ties to the Jewish community and a lengthy track record of support for Israel. 

“It’s a good choice for those of us who care deeply about the American political scene for democracy, and it’s a good choice for those of us who care deeply about Israel,” said Morris Allen, rabbi emeritus at Beth Jacob Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in the suburbs of St. Paul-Minneapolis. 

Allen said that good relationship came through even when he and Walz were at odds, as they were over the Iran nuclear agreement nearly a decade ago. Most Democrats — including Walz, then in Congress — supported the deal and many pro-Israel groups bitterly opposed it. 

“We may have disagreed on the Iran vote 2015 but he was straightforward and explained his decisions,” Allen said. “But he has always been a strong advocate for foreign aid for Israel, has been out front on those kinds of concerns, was a trusted vote on those issues, spoke out against hate and antisemitism, and I think is just a decent, caring human being.”

In a followup comment over email, Allen added, “What I can tell you is that Tim Walz is a mensch and his team was a pleasure to work with.” 

A former high school teacher, Walz as governor backed a Holocaust education mandate — a longtime priority of his . He also appointed the first Jewish member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 40 years and showed up at Jewish community vigils, whether after the 2019 stabbing attack in Monsey, New York, or after Oct. 7.

“The ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational,” he said in his remarks at the JCRC’s annual event earlier this year . “The failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic.”

Carin Mrotz, the former executive director of Jewish Community Action, a progressive group in the state, said Walz stood up for Jewish priorities because his policies have made a difference across the state. 

“Look, as a Jewish Minnesotan, everything that he has worked on and championed has impacted me and my family,” said Carin Mrotz, the former executive director of Jewish Community Action. “I think things like feeding kids in schools is a Jewish issue. I think that passing historic labor laws is a Jewish issue. So I tend to think of the governor of Minnesota more in the framework of how his work has impacted all Minnesotans, and not just the Jewish community.”

In addition to the discourse over Shapiro, Walz has taken flak from Republicans for endorsing Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota congresswoman who is one of the leading critics of Israel in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, Omar congratulated Walz and posted a photo to X of the two of them smiling , arm in arm. 

To Republicans, including former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who is Jewish, that relationship is an indictment of Walz. 

“By the way, his best buddy is Ilhan Omar, for my landsmen out there,” Coleman, who is now the national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told a New York talk radio show on Tuesday , using a Yiddish expression that refers to fellow Jews. “You have somebody who supports antisemites, who supports Ilhan Omar.”

But the JCRC chief said Walz’s warmth toward Omar doesn’t tarnish the governor, and that such relationships are common between Democrats in the same state. 

“The governor’s record stands for itself with respect to the Jewish community,” Hunegs said. “It’s always complex, the political matrix in these states like Minnesota. Generally in Minnesota, endorsed candidates support other endorsed candidates.”

And a local Israeli diplomat also had praise for Walz. Yinam Cohen, consul general of Israel to the Midwest, shared a photo of himself with the governor on X and thanked him for his support since Oct. 7.

“It has been an honor to work with Governor Walz on deepening the Israel-Minnesota partnership,” Cohen wrote on X . “Thank you, @GovTimWalz, for standing with Israel during our darkest hour on Oct. 7. The U.S.-Israel strategic alliance is strong and enduring!”

A particularly poignant moment in Walz’s relationship with the Jewish community, said Aaron Weininger, rabbi of the Conservative synagogue Adath Jeshurun Congregation in Minnetonka, came a few months after Holocaust survivor Dora Zaidenweber gave powerful testimony in support of a bill mandating Holocaust and indigenous genocide education in the state. She was honored at a JCRC event in June, where Walz spoke highly of her and gave her a standing ovation. Zaidenweber died in September 2023.

“He’s a true community builder,” Weininger said. “ There was Governor Walz standing and applauding Dora for her outstanding leadership.”

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Due to a cyber attack on the British Library, EThOS (Electronic Theses Online Service) is currently unavailable. We are working to restore the service. In the meantime, you can search for doctoral theses in the main BL catalogue: https://www.bl.uk/ or download a copy of the EThOS metadata in spreadsheet format: https://doi.org/10.23636/rcm4-zk44  

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• BritBox Gets ‘Captivated’ & Buys Comic Crime Caper ‘Tree On A Hill’

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EXCLUSIVE: BritBox has struck a deal to bring British dramas Captivated and Pren ar y Bryn ( Tree on a Hill ) to its American service.

The international streamer will launch both series in the U.S. later this year following the deal with distributor All3Media International.

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Welsh-language drama Tree on a Hill comes from Hinterland / Y Gwyll creator Ed Thomas and is produced by Fiction Factory. The BBC drama launched recently on the BBC and is billed as “a rich mix of dark humor, unique characters and a touch of the absurd, as it follows the lives of two unlikely heroes, whose quiet existence is changed in an instant when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law.”

“I’m thrilled our brilliant partners at BritBox are bringing  Captivated  and  Tree on a Hill  to audiences across the U.S.,” said Jennifer Askin, SVP North America at All3Media International, the sales wing of RedBird IMI-owned UK production house All3Media. “Both titles are from award-winning producers known for their enthralling storytelling and premium productions and I have every confidence they will offer BritBox audiences superb entertainment.”

For BritBox, the news comes weeks after we revealed it had commissioned a new version of the Inspector Lynley mysteries starring Leo Suter and Sofia Barclay. The BBC bought ITV out of the service earlier this year in a landmark £255M ($325M) deal , and in his first interview after being installed as the new-look service’s President , Robert Schildhouse told Deadline it was operating “autonomously” and free of “creative pressure” from the  BBC , adding it was “the best route to market for British TV outside of the UK.

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How Disinformation Fed a Far-Right Riot After a Deadly Stabbing in England

More than 50 police were injured in an outbreak of violence driven by false reports that the suspect in the stabbing attack on a children’s dance class was a migrant.

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By Megan Specia

Reporting from London and Southport, England

Less than two hours after mourners gathered in Southport, England, on Tuesday evening to honor three children killed in a brutal stabbing attack, hundreds of rioters flooded the streets of the already traumatized town.

More than 50 police officers were injured in the ensuing violence, as demonstrators threw bricks at a mosque, attacked the police, set cars on fire and damaged a convenience store.

Although some details of the unrest remain opaque, one thing is clear, according to the police, lawmakers and experts in online extremism: Disinformation and far-right agitators fueled the violence.

Supporters of the English Defence League, an extremist anti-Islam organization, were part of a large group that attacked a mosque in Southport around 7.45 p.m., according to a statement from the Merseyside Police Service , which covers the region.

The targeting of the mosque, and the subsequent riot, came after false rumors circulated on social media on Monday, soon after news emerged that a man had stabbed multiple children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

The rapid spread of misinformation about the attacker’s identity left the authorities fighting a two-pronged battle on Tuesday: one on the streets of Southport, where the police were pelted with bricks and other objects, and another online, where lawmakers, local officials and the police seemed powerless to halt viral falsehoods.

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