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Publish your dissertation digitally or not?

Wondering if you want to publish your dissertation as open-access or embargo it, in a private depository for a year, two, or more? This question can be tricky to navigate for graduate students going on the job market. The Graduate Center, CUNY’s library recently addressed the question in the event “Share It Now or Save It For Later: Making Choices about Dissertations and Publishing” last Spring.

The event featured Jill Cirasella (Associate Librarian for Public Services and Scholarly Communications at the Graduate Center), Polly Thistlethwaite (Chief Librarian of the Graduate Center), Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Director of Scholarly Communication, Modern Language Association), Philip Leventhal (Editor for Literary Studies, Journalism, and U.S. History, Columbia University Press), Jerome Singerman (Senior Humanities Editor, University of Pennsylvania Press), Gregory Donovan (Assistant Professor, Sociology and Urban Studies, Saint Peter’s University [now Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University] and Graduate Center alumnus), and Colleen Eren (Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, LaGuardia Community College and Graduate Center alumna).

You can read more about the event and listen to soundbits from it on the Library’s Commons site.


If this topic interests you, you might also want to check out our upcoming event “What Is a Dissertation? New Models, Methods, Media” showcasing recent and current doctoral students whose dissertations exemplify innovative, experimental formats–Scalar, video, websites, comics, multimedia inter actives. The event will be livestreamed and live tweeted (#remixthediss) by Futures Initiative and CUNY DHI fellows who will leading collaboration on an open public Google Doc designed to record, celebrate, and model successful institutional change.

You can read more about the event here.

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