Publishing digital dissertations

The State and University Library of Bremen has created a user-friendly facility that enables graduates in Bremen to publish their doctoral dissertation online as a digital full text document through our MEDIA document server.

Publishing your document - a step-by-step guide

Please complete the following steps to publish your dissertation:
Create a digital version (PDF file) - register online, describe and upload your file – submit your printed archive copies and a Declaration of Consent.

1. Check the relevant examination regulations: Can I submit a digital dissertation?
If you would like to submit a digital dissertation, please check that you are allowed to do so under the applicable examination regulations. Please note that dissertations must comply with the examination regulations of the respective faculty (Promotionsordnung).
If your faculty is yet to issue a directive on the publication of digital dissertations, you will need the written approval of the respective examination committee to publish your dissertation on our platform. Please make sure to detail the date of your thesis's defense colloquium and the name of your primary and secondary supervisor on the title page of your thesis document.

2. Create a copy of your dissertation in the publishing format (PDF/A)
Please note that the PDF of your dissertation must be an accurate reproduction of the original document.
Your work will be published as a PDF/A file. PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for use in the archiving and long-term preservation of electronic documents. It is designed to facilitate document exchange by embedding fonts, formatting, colors and graphics from any source within the document. Its ability to represent documents independently of the software, hardware and operating systems used to create them makes it an ideal presentation format for online publishing. Please remember to assign your file a descriptive file name and also set the PDF-internal title and author information correctly so that your document is well presented in Google searches.
You can create a PDF/A-1b version of your thesis with Adobe Acrobat.  LaTeX users should refer to the following guide: Generation of PDF/X-1a and PDF/A-1b compliant PDF’s with PDFTEX

3. Register your theses online (ORCID)
Once you have prepared the final version of your publication, you can register to submit it online.

You need an ORCID-ID to log on to the library's media server. The ORCID is a worldwide unique ID for scientists. ORCID-IDs are intended to facilitate the electronic assignment of publications and other research activities to researchers. If you do not yet have an ORCID, you can create an ORCID before you register.

Once you have registered online, you will be requested to supply a brief abstract of your work along with the requisite bibliographic metadata before you can upload the PDF/A file to the document server. The metadata and PDF/A file of your publication will be formally reviewed by our staff following this. You will then receive a confirmation e-mail from the library detailing the further procedure.

4. Accept the Terms of Contract and Declaration of Consent
By signing and submitting a Declaration of Consent users accept our terms of contract for the publication of digital documents. A form suitable for your document is generated during the publication process and can be printed. Please submit this declaration signed in the next step (5.).

5. Submit printed archive copies to the library
You can now submit your signed Declaration of Consent together with one printed copy of your publication to the library. Please make an appointment with the staff member responsible for printed theses to submit your printed dissertation / thesis.

You will then receive written confirmation of the online publication of your thesis from us. You will need to present this confirmation to your Doctoral Committee to receive your doctoral certificate.

6. Release of the digital dissertation
Once the process is complete, the work is released and is immediately available worldwide through the library's system. You will receive a long-term valid and therefore citable internet address based on a persistent identifier: DOI

Are there any rules for printing and binding?

Format:

• DIN A4 or A5
• Glued or ring binding
• durable, wood and acid-free paper

Please note that dissertations MUST comply with the examination regulations of the respective faculty (Promotionsordnung). The names of your primary and secondary supervisor must be detailed on the title page or its reverse along with the date of the doctoral colloquium.

How will producing a digital dissertation affect my ability to publish my work through a publishing house?

Users of this service grant the State and University Library of Bremen (SuUB) the right to make their digital dissertation publicly available through its data networks and to allow users to retrieve copies of this digital thesis.
If you plan to submit your thesis for publication in a print edition, you should consult with likely publishers in advance about the availability of your work online.
It is not possible to have your thesis removed from our document server at a later date, or to revoke usage rights granted to the State and University Library Bremen in order to grant publishers exclusive rights to your work (for further information on the issue of german copyright and usage rights, please follow this link).

My publication contains material from original publications (Cumulative thesis).
Can I publish this material in my digital dissertation / thesis?

Please consult the Open Policy Finder database for information on publishing policies and publisher’s copyright transfer terms. We recommend that you consult with your prospective publisher if you have any doubts as to your legal rights and obligations.

Can I obtain an ISBN number for a digital dissertation / thesis published through MEDIA?

An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric book identifier used to identify books and other independent publications (not including periodicals).
ISBN numbers are primarily utilized in the book trade to manage supply and sales chains, and provide a means to identify individual titles.
They have no impact on or connection to legal aspects such as copyright and distribution rights, and are not issued for purely digital publications.
In some cases, where publishers have agreed to produce a parallel print edition, it may be possible to obtain an ISBN number.

Please note that any content displayed on this page is presented here for information purposes only and is neither intended as nor constitutes legal advice.