Back in October 2021 I blogged this chart showing the number of theses in LAC’s Theses Canada collection. Note the decline in the number of theses captured since 2012. I wondered if the situation has changed.
This updated chart, produced on 25 July 2023, shows the number of theses in the collection still peaking in 2012, the number crept above 30,000. Until 2016 there were above 10,000 theses collected annually.
As shown by this data from Statistica, it’s not that the number of graduates is declining. More likely, with the passage of time since Theses Canada started in 1965, universities see less value in this LAC service.
Even with the decrease in numbers, the collection is worth searching for any light it could throw on an aspect of your family history.
Is there a requirement for all theses submitted to the writer‘s university to be deposited in LAC?