You may be interested to hear the following news release available
at: http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/

Best wishes

Hannah

Oxford-Google digitisation agreement

After more than a year of discussions and negotiations, the
University of Oxford has concluded a mass-digitisation agreement
with Google, Inc., of Mountain View, California, which should lead,
over the next three years in the first instance, to the digitisation of
more than 1 million of the Bodleian Library's printed books, and
their worldwide availability on the Internet, through Google's popular
search services and the Oxford website.

Because of copyright restrictions and intellectual property issues,
the agreement between Google and Oxford covers only 'public
domain' materials (i.e. printed books for which the copyright has
expired - principally, books published before 1920), and it will
involve the establishment in Oxford, by Google, of a digital
scanning and processing unit which, when fully operational, should
be capable of producing as many as 10,000 electronic books per
week.

The scanning operation will lead to the creation of two digital
copies of each book: one for Google, and one for Oxford. The
Google copy will be fully indexed and searchable through the
Google search service, while the Oxford copy will be linked directly
to the relevant catalogue record in the Oxford Libraries Information
Service (OLIS). For Google, this will represent a major
enhancement of the quality and range of the information discovered
and presented by its Internet-based services. In Oxford, the
addition of so many electronic books, from the University's own
collections, to its web-based library resources will not only provide
a major increment in library service for users, but will also
represent a significant step forward in the long-term aims of the
Oxford University Library Services (OULS) in developing a 'virtual
library' based on its incomparable physical collections.

The printed collections of the OULS (consisting of the principal
central libraries of the University of Oxford) number in excess of 11
million volumes, and they represent one of the largest university
library collections in the world. The OULS holdings are of primary
interest and importance to the scholars and students of the
University; but the electronic availability of a substantial and
growing proportion of these items will serve not only study and
scholarship in Oxford, but also the whole worldwide community of
the literate and of the information-hungry. In line with Sir Thomas
Bodley's original founding aims for the Bodleian Library in 1602, the
ben
efits of physical access to Oxford's library collections are already enjoyed by many thousands of non-Oxonians (with more than 60% of Bodleian Library users being external to the University); but the worldwide accessibili
ty of an increasingly large number of digital copies of Oxford's holdings will help to maximise the value and use of these materials by an even wider global audience.

With Google bearing the direct cost of digitising the books under this new agreement, the major benefits envisaged will accrue to the University, and to the wider public, at a rate which could never have been otherwise ac
hieved. At the same time, the OULS itself stands to gain a great deal, in terms of innovative information technology, through this close working relationship with one of the world's leading Internet companies, for whom "i
nnovation is standard".

While the vast collections of unique, or especially rare, research materials in Oxford (manuscripts, archives, maps, and early printed books) are not included within the scope of the agreement with Google, the OULS 'Oxfor
d Digital Library' initiative, which was launched in 2001, will continue with its in-house aim of digitising as many as possible of the University's more 'high-value' library materials, on the basis of local demands and s
cholarly needs. But the ultimate objective is to ensure that these 'high-end' digital resources are made seamlessly searchable along with the many 'Google' copies of later printed materials, to provide Oxford library user
s with round-the-clock networked access to an electronic library of unparalleled quality and depth.

Reg Carr, the Director of OULS, and Bodley's Librarian, observes that "the agreement with Google is a classic example of a 'win:win situation', in which everyone stands to gain. The Bodleian Library and Google are both 'f
irst-in-class', and their mutually beneficial co-operation in this mass-
digitisation scheme can be warmly welcomed as a really major
step towards the global electronic library of the future. We are truly
delighted to be an integral part of such an exciting development. It
should help us all to gain the maximum possible benefit from the
huge possibilities opened up by the digital information era."

Oxford is the only non-North American institution presently
included in this mass-digitisation effort by Google, the other
libraries involved being those in the universities of Stanford,
Harvard, and Michigan, together with the world-famous New York
Public Library.

The University's Vice-Chancellor, Dr John Hood, is enthusiastic
about the scheme, and describes the agreement between Oxford
and Google as "really good news".

Reg Carr
Director of University Library Services and Bodley's Librarian
******************************
Dr Hannah Young
Diversity Officer
Diversity and Equal Opportunities Unit
University of Oxford
University Offices
Wellington Square
Oxford OX1 2JD
Tel: 01865 280459
Fax: 01865 280300
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