Ethos is a new service from the British Library which offers researchers from all over the world a single point of access to UK doctoral theses. The service currently holds 250,000 records some dating back to the 1600s with 111 UK Universities participating to date. Users can search the database without registering. To download or order a thesis to be digitised, however, registration is necessary. The system harvests theses from open access institutional repositories so many of the theses are available free of charge. If a participating institution has not made their theses available electronically, they will be digitised and, at the moment, can take up to 30 days to receive. Cost of digitisation is usually borne by the institution but, in some cases, may have to be accepted by the individual requester. Theses are normally available as pdf files but can also be ordered on CD/DVD for an extra charge. Ethos can be found at ethos.bl.uk. M.Phil theses can still be ordered through the library's Inter-Library Loan Service.