Ever Expanding Collection of Text Clips
PROJECT SEEKS TO DIGITIZE THOUSANDS OF EARLY ENGLISH TEXTS
A group of 150 academic libraries is being recruited to join in
a partnership with ProQuest Information and Learning (formerly
Bell and Howell) to produce a digitized database of 25,000
English works produced from 1475 to 1700. So far, 50
institutions, including Oxford University and the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor, have committed to paying the $10,000 per
year for five years necessary to complete the project. For at
least the first five years, only those libraries that contribute
will be allowed free access to the expanding database, putting
academics in the unusual position of limiting the distribution
of knowledge. Observers noted that this model of private/academic
partnership could spread, especially if the current effort is
completed as planned.
(Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 29 June 2001)
c/o EDUPAGE 29Jun01
