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The theses are back on the shelves

Library — From week 46 you again have the option of borrowing theses at the Copenhagen university library. The lending of master's theses had been shut down since July with reference to GDPR data protection regulation.

The borrowing of theses has been opened again at the Copenhagen university library, which is a separate unit under the Royal Library. It has not been possible to borrow master’s theses since mid-July with reference to GDPR regulations.

Several of the older, printed, master’s theses had the Danish CPR registration numbers or other personal information on them.

We are happy to yet again be able to lend out master’s theses. But we are sorry for any inconvenience this has been to students when they were not available

Kira Stine Hansen, the Royal Library

This meant that the library first contacted the Danish Data Protection Agency, then the CPR registry, and finally the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Higher Education and Research in order to get an assessment of whether it violated GDPR by keeping the master’s theses.

Digital theses available in 2019

But after four months of legal wrangling, the Copenhagen university library has been through all the printed theses manually, and cut out any personal information.

We are happy to yet again be able to lend out master’s theses. But we are sorry for any inconvenience this has been to students when they were not available,” says Kira Stine Hansen, university librarian at the Copenhagen university library and deputy director for the Royal Library.

The digital theses will, however, only be available from next year, as the Copenhagen university library waits for a new digital platform which, according to Kira Stine Hansen, is ready from the beginning of 2019.

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