Clarification Needed on ETD-MS Versions, Documentation, and XML Schemas

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Gabriela M

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Mar 25, 2026, 4:55:29 PM (9 days ago) Mar 25
to ETD
Hello everyone,

I am seeking clarification from the community regarding the versions of the ETD-MS metadata standard. This question arose from reviewer feedback on a DSpace pull request, see: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11721

While reviewing the available documentation and schemas, several inconsistencies were noted, and I would appreciate some guidance on which sources should be considered authoritative.

  1. The ETD-MS 1.1 documentation available here
    https://ndltd.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/etd-ms-v1.1.html

    references the following URL:
    http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etd-ms-v1.1.html

    which no longer appears to be accessible.

  2. The link to the current version: https://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/current.html
    lists ETD-MS version 1.00, revision 2 

  3. In addition to the documentation, I was able to locate two XML schema files:

Questions for clarification:

  • Which ETD-MS document should be treated as the authoritative standard?
  • Are the 1.0 and 1.1 both considered valid, and if so, which one should current implementations follow?

Any clarification, historical context, or guidance from those familiar with the evolution of ETD-MS would be extremely helpful.


Best regards,

Gabriela

Edward Fox

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Mar 25, 2026, 8:22:23 PM (9 days ago) Mar 25
to Gabriela M, ETD, Jian Wu, Ana Pavani
Hi!

The NDLTD website has a page
which ends with a discussion of ETD metadata and a link to the 
   ETD Metadata Standard ETD-MS
That page lets you download 
    (It benefited from "a review of the standard at the NDLTD Board meeting at RGU in Aberdeen Scotland,
    3 June 2008".)

This is newer than 
and 
    ETD-MS: an Interoperability Metadata Standard for Electronic Theses and Dissertations -- version 1.00, revision 2

We have been working to further update the standard; Ana Pavani and Jian Wu are taking the lead on this.
At the ETD 2024 conference, an interim solution was presented, 
   ETD-MS v2.0

If you are interested in working on an updated standard, or have questions, please let Ana, Jian, and me know.

Thank you for your time and interest!
Warm regards, Ed Fox
PS I defer to Ana and Jian if they have comments to add.


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Gabriela M

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Mar 26, 2026, 11:50:42 AM (9 days ago) Mar 26
to ETD, Edward Fox, ETD, Jian Wu, Ana Pavani, Gabriela M

Hi Ed,

Thank you very much for sharing this helpful overview and for pointing me to the most recent ETD‑MS materials and ongoing work. I appreciate the clarification around the different versions and the context on how the standard has evolved.

One item I wanted to note: in the etd‑ms‑v1.1 HTML document, the link label pointing to
http://www.ndltd.org/standards/metadata/etd-ms-v1.1.html
does not currently resolve, even though the content itself is available via the wp‑content link. I mention this in case it is useful as the documentation continues to be refined.

Thank you again for your time.

Warm regards,

Gabriela

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