Internet resources: Full-Text Doctoral Dissertations on Middle East and Islamic Studies available free

The British Library’s partnership project with the Chicago-based Center for Research Libraries (CRL) has now released digitized copies of 400 U.K. Ph.D. theses on Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. The project is operated through the EThOS (Electronic Theses Online) electronic thesis service, which the British Library runs in partnership with JISC and the U.K. Higher Education sector.

The theses comprise U.K. postgraduate research into politics, culture, and society in the Islamic world. They can now be downloaded for free via the British Library’s EThOS service. 

Launched in 2008, EThOS is a one-stop shop for U.K. Ph.D.s. It has seen demand for theses increase tenfold as the provision of digitized copies replaced provision via microfilm and paper copies. As more universities move to electronic formats, the service is also providing access to an increasing number of “born digital” theses.

EThOS is a partnership between the British Library, the Higher Education sector, and JISC, and it supplies electronic versions of theses published by 111 U.K. universities. The digitization of paper theses is funded by the partner universities and the service administered by the British Library. More than 38,000 theses have now been digitized and are available free for instant download.