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Maybe Peter won't mind a debate breaking out on the otherwise relatively quiet DLF listserv ;) Martin's suggestion about a panel at the Fall Forum makes a lot of sense, and Ricky Erway has written to us each about the convergence of that idea with some information collecting she's doing. I like the idea of a discussion about different approaches to mass digitization, and like even more the "stewardship" filter on that question. It's definitely a good topic for a DLF crowd. John On 6/8/07 3:10 AM, "Martin Halbert" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > All of your points are well taken, John, and provide useful nuances to a > complex discussion. I didn't mean to start a debate on the announcement > listserv, and apologize if any of my announcement posting came across as > disparaging in any way. Since this ALA program announcement generated some > sidebar discussion, perhaps we should think about this as a topic for a > panel at the Fall Forum in Philadelphia; it might be an interesting > opportunity for friendly discussion. I certainly agree that there is a lot > of room for different approaches and opinions on mass digitization that are > all valid and responsible. Cheers, John. > > Best regards, > > Martin Halbert, PhD, MLIS > > Director for Digital Programs and Systems > Robert W. Woodruff Library > 540 Asbury Circle > Emory University > Atlanta, GA 30322 > > (ph) 404-727-2204 > (fax) 404-727-0827 > (web) http://martin.library.emory.edu > (email) [log in to unmask] > > The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings. > - Okakura Kakuzo > > You can't choose the ways in which you'll be tested. > - Robert J. Sawyer > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Wilkin [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 10:17 PM > To: Martin Halbert; [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: New Emory/Kirtas/Amazon Mass Digitization Announcement - at ALA > June 24, 2007 > > Martinıs posting seems to call for a little bit of friendly debate. Martin > describes the Emory effort, saying that Emory ³retain[s] control of the > digitized versions of their collections (in contrast to the Google Print > Project model).² Language being the squishy thing that it is, Iım sure > thereıs lots of room to mean something different that what I understood > Martin to be saying. Letıs consider some things this might mean: > > + To ³retain control² might mean the library receives a digital copy and > manages it. If thatıs the case, then this is a right that every one of the > Google libraries has. > + To ³retain control² might mean that the library receives a copy and may > provide access *services* around the book, to the extent provided by the > law. Again, this seems to be a right had by Google libraries, and a right we > can find supported in each of the publicly available agreements. > + To ³retain control² might mean that the library receives a copy and can, > say, give it to another library. Again, this or a variation of it is what > we see in Californiaıs contract with Google. Michiganıs contract permits > something similarthe ability to use the content in a collaborative venture > with other libraries. > > I donıt mean to be obtuse here. I think that what Martin *meant* is that > Emory can give their content away to anyone at any time in any formatthat > is, being able to do *anything* with the content is a good thing. Thatıs a > good point and one, I should note, that David Bearman made eloquently in the > December 2006 issue of D-Lib (review of Jeanneney's book). Having digitized > tens of thousands of volumes on our own at Michigan (and having put most of > them in Amazon for sale as reprints), Iıd definitely agree that this level > of control is nice to have. I would say, however, that having the sort of > control we do have by virtue of our deal with Google (and even seeing these > same volumes available for download as PDFs in Google), is a very nice level > of control to have retained. In any event, we have always seen this as > preserving our ³role as stewards of the intellectual assets represented by > [our] collections.² > > > > On 6/6/07 6:13 PM, "Martin Halbert" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> If you are attending the upcoming American Library Association meeting in >> Washington D.C., please consider attending a panel discussion on Sunday, >> June 24, from 10:30 AM - 12 Noon entitled, "Libraries as Digital > Publishers: >> A New Model for Scholarly Access to Information." The panel will be this >> year's program for the Digital Library Technologies Interest Group, and > will >> be held in the Grand Hyatt room Independence H-1. >> >> In this new model for mass digitization and digital publishing, libraries >> retain control of the digitized versions of their collections (in contrast >> to the Google Print Project model). This option allows libraries to >> preserve their role as stewards of the intellectual assets represented by >> their collections. >> >> The DLTIG panel will include presenters from Emory University, Kirtas >> Technologies, Amazon, and several other research libraries. DLTIG > business >> meeting and elections will follow the panel presentation. >> >> The following press release provides more information and context for this >> event. Hope to see you there! >> >> --------------------- Press Release --------------------------- >> >> EMORY PARTNERSHIP BREAKS NEW GROUND IN PRINT-ON-DEMAND BOOKS >> >> Emory University is launching a new model for digital scholarship through > a >> partnership with Kirtas Technologies, Inc., a maker of cutting-edge > digital >> scanning technology. Once digitized, the books will be made available on >> Amazon.com as well as other book distribution channels. >> >> The partnership will enable Emory to apply automated scanning technology > to >> thousands of rare, out-of-print books in its research collections, making > it >> possible for scholars to browse the pages of these books on the Internet > or >> order bound, printed copies via a fast, affordable print-on-demand > service. >> >> "We believe that mass digitization and print-on-demand publishing is an >> important new model for digital scholarship that is going to revolutionize >> the management of academic materials," said Martin Halbert, director for >> digital programs and systems at Emory's Robert W. Woodruff Library. >> "Information will no longer be lost in the mists of time when books go out >> of print. This is a way of opening up the past to the future." >> >> Emory's Robert W. Woodruff Library is one of the premier research > libraries >> in the United States, with extensive holdings in the humanities, including >> many rare and special collections. To increase accessibility to these > aging >> materials, and ensure their preservation, the university purchased a > Kirtas >> robotic book scanner, which can digitize as many as 50 books per day, >> transforming the pages from each volume into an Adobe Portable Document >> Format (PDF). The PDF files will be uploaded to a Web site where scholars >> can access them. If a scholar wishes to order a bound, printed copy of a >> digitized book, they can go to Amazon.com and order the book on line. >> >> Emory will receive compensation from the sale of digitized copies, > although >> Halbert stressed that the print-on-demand feature is not intended to >> generate a profit, but simply help the library recoup some of its costs in >> making out-of-print materials available. >> >> Materials in Emory's collections that are rare and unique to the history > of >> the university and the South are currently being digitized as part of a >> pilot project. The university expects the print-on-demand feature for > these >> targeted materials to become available by the fall semester. Altogether, > the >> university houses more than 200,000 out-of-print volumes that were > published >> before 1923. >> >> Emory was already on the leading edge of digital scholarship, as one of > the >> first universities to establish a major online peer-review journal. In the >> two years of its existence, Emory's Internet journal Southern Spaces >> (southernspaces.org) has grown into a dominant force in the Southern > studies >> field, attracting scholars from around the world to its forums and >> interactive, multi-media features. >> >> Visitors to Southern Spaces can actually see and hear Southern writers >> reading from their works, in the actual settings of those works. A video > of >> Emory's Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, for example, shows >> her reading "Elegy for the Native Guards" while standing amid the dunes of >> Shipp Island, Mississippi, where the poem is set. >> >> "Mass digitization and print-on-demand capabilities represent another >> quantum leap forward for digital scholarship at Emory, opening up whole > new >> arenas of possibilities," Halbert said. >> >> In addition to making out-of-print books more accessible, Emory librarians >> envision the university's mass digitization and print-on-demand > capabilities >> expanding the range of more current scholarly materials. >> >> "The Emory libraries plan to use the program to support an array of >> scholarly publishing needs of our campus," said Rick Luce, vice provost > for >> libraries at Emory. "We will be providing new opportunities for our > faculty >> and students to disseminate their work, if they choose to do so, under the >> Emory banner." >> >> As chair of the American Librarian Association's Digital Library >> Technologies Interest Group, Halbert will be leading a panel discussion at >> the ALA annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on June 24, entitled, > "Libraries >> as Digital Publishers: A New Model for Scholarly Access to Information." >> >> EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: A demonstration of this digital scanning process will >> be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 7 at Woodruff Library. Please contact >> Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, [log in to unmask] for more > information. >> >> >> ### >> >> Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research >> universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. > Emory >> is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of >> arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art >> research facilities. Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 > national >> universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, >> the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate >> Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most >> comprehensive health care system. To access News@Emory RSS feeds, go to: >> http://news.emory.edu/Releases/RSSFeeds1124313225.html. >> >> >> --------------------- End Press Release ----------------------- >> >> Best regards, >> >> Martin Halbert, PhD, MLIS >> >> Director for Digital Programs and Systems >> Robert W. Woodruff Library >> 540 Asbury Circle >> Emory University >> Atlanta, GA 30322 >> >> (ph) 404-727-2204 >> (fax) 404-727-0827 >> (web) http://martin.library.emory.edu >> (email) [log in to unmask] >> >> The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings. >> - Okakura Kakuzo >> >> You can't choose the ways in which you'll be tested. >> - Robert J. Sawyer