Vireo 2.0: An Evolving Partnership in the Service of ETDs

Vireo Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission and Management software, developed by the Texas Digital Library as an open-source application, is a leading tool for graduate offices and academic libraries who accept, manage, and publish theses and dissertations online. During 2012, an evolving partnership among the TDL, the Vireo Users Group, and an emerging open-source community of developers produced two new versions of the Vireo software. These updates provide users with improved usability, greater customization options, and powerful new publishing features. In this presentation, several stakeholders in the Vireo project will discuss the capabilities and limitations of Vireo, share the progress made with the application over the past year, and briefly discuss the new features and improvements in Vireo 1.8 and 2.0. The panel will also discuss the Texas Digital Library’s relationship to Vireo as (1) a development partner on the project, (2) a Vireo hosting solution for its member institutions, and (3) an organizer, in collaboration with the Vireo Users Group, of the growing open-source community around Vireo. Finally, the panel will reflect on the evolution of Vireo and share a vision for future collaborative work on the software.