National Library News May 2000 Vol. 32, no. 5

A Fine Example of Collaboration... an Automated Tracking System for Canadian Theses

Jean-Eudes Bériault,
Systems Coordinator,
Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services

Louis Forget of the National Library's Information Technology Services and Gilles Gavard of the département d'informatique at the Collège de l'Outaouais have signed an agreement to allow a group of computer science students to work on the development of an automated tracking system for Canadian theses. This system will enable the National Library's Theses Canada to carry out administrative and financial follow-up on the theses from Canadian universities participating in the Canadian Theses Program.

Front row, from left to right: Gilles Gavard, Julie Guay, Richard Bastien and Louis Forget. Back row, from left to right: Martine Gaudet, Mel Simoneau and Jean-Eudes Bériault.

The agreement was signed in August 1999, and the project began in September. The three participating students, in consultation with National Library personnel, assessed the existing situation in the Canadian Theses Program, together with the administrative and informatics requirements of the future system. They established, among other things, the objectives and current operations of the new system and the type of data it would compile. They then developed a prototype, followed by the final product. The system will be delivered by the students in late April 2000.

This first collaborative experiment involving the Collège de l'Outaouais and the National Library of Canada has been a resounding success. The students have expressed their satisfaction with this very interesting work experience  -  an experience that provided them with the opportunity to participate in a concrete case study whose results can be implemented. The National Library is pleased to be involved with the local community in this way and to offer activities of this nature to students who will soon be entering the job market. Both the Library and the College have committed themselves to repeat this experiment next year with another group of students in a new project. For more information on the Canadian Theses Program, contact

Theses Canada
National Library of Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON   K1A 0N4
CANADA
E-mail: theses@lac-bac.gc.ca