POLICY FOR COLLECTING
OBERLIN COLLEGE B. A. HONORS PAPERS AND M.A. THESES
Revised 5/5/03
PURPOSE
The Library acquires copies of Oberlin honors papers and M.A. Theses to serve the needs of Oberlin students and faculty, provide access to Oberlin scholarship to researchers outside the Oberlin community, and to ensure that these original works are available to researchers for consultation in the future. The decisions on which honors papers will be retained by the Library rests with the teaching department.
Participating departments are asked to distribute copies of these guidelines to all honors students whose papers will be acquired by the Library. The guidelines are to be followed by the students in the preparation of their honors papers.
NUMBER OF COPIES
Two identical copies of each honors paper or thesis are to be submitted unbound to Judy Carrozzino, Preparations Department, Mudd Library. One copy will be deposited in Mudd Library Special Collections (except for Art honors papers or theses, where copy 1 will be in the Art Library). The other copy will be added to the circulating collection of Mudd or the appropriate branch library and made available for circulation to other libraries through interlibrary loan. If the sponsoring department wishes to pay for a commercially bound copy (or copies) of the thesis for the departmental office, copies should be submitted separately to Judy Carrozzino with specific instructions regarding their binding. In the case of a thesis that has utilized the Oberlin College archives extensively, a third copy is to be deposited in the archives, with the latter assuming all costs for this copy.
PAPER AND TYPE
Both copies must be on 8 1/2" x 11", 20 lb., acid-free paper. Erasable papers may not be used. A letter-quality font no smaller than 12 point.
MARGINS, SPACING, & CORRECTIONS
A 1" margin must be left at the top, bottom, and right sides, and a 1 1/2" margin on the left side for binding. Tables, charts, etc. must also leave a 1 1/2" margin on the left side for binding. The major portion of the text should be double-spaced; quotations and notes may be single-spaced. No correction fluid or tape should be used.
FORMAT
The thesis should follow requirements set forth by the appropriate Department (Art has such requirements) or developed in consultation with the thesis advisor. Generally, one of the formats described in the Modern Language Association, University of Chicago, or other standard style manuals should be used. There must be a title page indicating the student's full name, the department, the degree for which the paper was submitted, and the year of submission.
PHOTODUPLICATION
It is preferable that both copies be originals, printed on a laser quality printer. Papers printed on printers that use water-soluble inks are not acceptable. If a photocopy is submitted, it should be made on a clean, well maintained copier which does not produce smudged copies. The quality of the copied text should be dark and even throughout. The margins should be the same as those on the original. Corrections should be made on the original before it is photocopied.
SPECIAL MATERIALS
Theses including such materials should be prepared according to the special instructions below. For further information about the preparation of any of these special materials, see Jane Boyd and Don Etherington, Preparation of Archival Copies of Theses and Dissertations Chicago: American Library Association, 1986. A copy is available in Mudd Library, Z701 .B79 1986. Additional questions on handling special materials
may be referred to the Special Collections/Preservation Librarian.
Illustrations
Original materials should be rendered with a permanent, non-soluble, black ink such as India ink. Felt-tip pens are not acceptable. The paper used for illustrations, charts, drawings, and computer printouts must be the same archival quality described in the section above on paper.
Small illustrations can be dry mounted by placing tissue between the illustration and the paper and fixing them with heat. The positional mount adhesive (Scotch Brand #568) should be used. Other adhesives are not acceptable. Page numbers and identification of illustrations should be typed or printed on the mounting pages prior to mounting the illustrations. Small illustrations should be positioned for even distribution throughout the 8 1/2" x 11" page surface, throughout the thickness of the text, if possible. This will provide for an even thickness of the bound thesis.
Oversized illustrations may be reduced on a photocopying machine, but lettering must remain legible.
Photographs
Black and white photographs produced through archival processing are preferred.
Original photos are preferred for both copies of the thesis. Photographs should be printed on lightweight polyfiber photographic paper with a glossy finish. Photographs may be dry mounted on heavier paper (about 80 lb) or coldmounted using Scotch #568 adhesive. Other adhesives, photocorners, and acetate pockets are not acceptable. The margins of the mounting page should be the same as for the text.
Oversized Materials
The paper on which these materials are prepared should be the same archival quality paper described in the section above on paper. Charts, maps, etc. which cannot be reduced should be carefully folded and placed in an acid-free envelope or pocket no larger than 8" x 10 1/2" submitted with the thesis. This envelope should be 1/8" taller than and 1" wider than the folded paper. Materials may also be folded 1 1/2" short of the binding edge and 1/2" short of the unbound edge. They should be placed in the appropriate location in the text leaving a 1 1/2" left margin for binding.
Music and Recorded Sound
Music and recorded sound should be recorded on reel-to-reel magnetic tape with 1.5 mil polyester or Mylar backing. Cassette tapes are not acceptable. The two copies submitted should have not splicing. Standard test tones should be recorded at the beginning of the tape to facilitate adjustments necessary for playback on different machines. Tapes should be presented in the polyethylene bags and protective boxes in which they are sold.