ABSTRACT
Theses are underutilized information resources. This is due to limitations on information about their content and restrictions on access to them. Providing easy access to this information is a common problem around the world. Following are details on developments, from a pilot project to a sustainable distributed national program, with the potential to significantly enhance knowledge about, and access to, Australian theses via the Web. The Australian Digital Theses (ADT) Program used the prospicient work on ETD submission and dissemination, led by the team at Virginia Tech [see: https:// etd.vt.edu/], as a starting point in developing its own distributed model. The ADT model creates a database of digitized theses, accessible via the Web by way of a simple selfsubmission and administration software, using a few critical but simple standard protocols. This Australian project, a collaborative effort originally involving seven universities, further extends the Virginia Tech (VT) concept to develop a prototype nationally distributed database of theses from participating institutions.
