Dissemination of and Access to Bachelor's Theses and Master's Theses in Spanish Public Universities Offering Library and Information Science Degrees.

This article examines the system for disseminating and publishing bachelor's and master's theses in Library & Information Science (LIS) at 14 Spanish universities by analyzing institutional open access policies, thesis regulations, course syllabi, library guides, and university repositories. It finds that while most universities have open access policies, explicit mandates for thesis publication vary and often require multiple authorizations and minimum grade thresholds, limiting the number of theses available in repositories. The study reveals that only a small fraction of LIS theses are accessible in institutional repositories, with difficulties in retrieval and inconsistent dissemination practices across institutions. The authors recommend establishing clear, binding open access policies mandating thesis deposit, standardizing dissemination criteria (such as minimum grades), ensuring transparency about AI use, and improving repository organization to enhance accessibility and support open science principles.