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Michigan Digitization Project

The University of Michigan and Google, Inc. have entered into a ground-breaking partnership to digitize the entire print collection of the University Library. The digitized collection, called the Hathi Trust Digital Library (formerly known as MBooks), is searchable in the library catalog, Mirlyn, as well as in the Google Book Search. Full-text of works that are out of copyright or in the public domain are available.  

The University of Michigan University Library embarked on this partnership for a number of very compelling reasons:

  • The project will create new ways for users to search and access Library content, opening up our library collections to our own users and to users throughout the world
  • Although we have engaged in large-scale (preservation-based) conversion of parts of the Library's collection for several years, we know that only through partnerships of this sort can something of this scale be achieved
  • We believe that, beyond providing basic access to Library collections, this activity is critically transformative, enabling the University Library to build on and reconceive vital Library services for the new millennium.

The University Library's digital collection is constantly evolving to suit new and existing demands from library users and library services. We anticipate that the Hathi Trust Digital Library will change and adjust accordingly.

For more information on the Hathi Trust organization, see HathiTrust.org.

Here's how to get started...

  • Go to the HathiTrust Digital Library Catalog Search to do a bibliographic search (Title, Author, Subject, ISBN/ISSN, Publisher, Series Title, or Year of Publication) of all HathiTrust items.
  • Go to Public Collections to browse other people's collections. Items can be copied into your own personal collection.

 

Scanning Schedule:

Currently scanning (Summer 2009): We are currently sending materials from 1A and 2 Hatcher, in the Q-V and Z classifications, to be scanned by Google.  See the Hatcher Library Google Digitization Progress page for more information.
Scanning completed: The Dentistry Library and Taubman Medical Library monographs, Social Work Library, the Art, Architecture and Engineering Library, large portions of the Hatcher Graduate Library, and large portions of the Buhr Remote Shelving Facility.

Future scanning (tentative schedule):

  • Juvenile Collection, Hatcher Graduate Library, August 2009
  • Bentley Historical Library, fall 2009
  • Buhr Remote Shelving Facility, fall 2009
  • Fine Arts Library, mid-fall 2009
  • University of Michigan Flint, winter/spring 2010
  • Kresge Business Administration Library, summer/fall 2010
  • Shapiro Science Library and Shapiro Undergraduate Library, fall/winter 2010-2011
  • University of Michigan Dearborn, spring 2011
  • Law Library, summer 2011

News & Announcements:

May 2009 On May 20, 2009, Google and University of Michigan signed an expanded agreement that allows University of Michigan to take advantage of the settlement agreement Google signed with representatives of authors and publishers last year.
Oct 2008 The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), and Google announced on October 28, 2008 a groundbreaking settlement agreement on behalf of a broad class of authors and publishers that would expand online access to millions of in-copyright books and other written materials in the U.S. from the collections of a number of major U.S. libraries participating in Google Book Search. Information about the settlement agreement between Google and plaintiffs the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. See also: University of Michigan FAQ on Settlement agreement between Google and plaintiffs, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers
Sept 2008 The University Library is pleased to announce that MBooks -- the collection of books digitized from the University Library's collections -- will become part of HathiTrust on September 3, 2008. HathiTrust, launched by the CIC libraries, is a shared digital repository for storing university library digital content, incorporating all the content from MBooks plus new content from other HathiTrust partners. The UM community will now have access to books, journals, and other documents previously unavailable through MBooks. MBooks links in the Mirlyn Library Catalog will now be renamed "HathiTrust Digital Library". The options for viewing, printing, and creating collections will be the same as in MBooks. We hope that HathiTrust will improve access to materials for your teaching, research, and scholarship. If you have questions about the collections, please Ask a Librarian http://www.lib.umich.edu/ask/, or for more information on the Hathi Trust organization, see HathiTrust.org.
July 2008 New features have been added to the MBooks system allow users to create their own collections of MBooks items and view public collections created by others. Users can also do full text searching across all items within a collection. 
May 2008 [BLT] Blog for Library Technology is Library Information Technology’s new blog. [BLT] will be one channel for LIT to announce new technologies, tools, and services that we develop for the libraries.
April 2008 University of Michigan and Indiana University create a multi-institutional repository. More details available via Indiana University's Shared Digital Repository project page.
Feb 2008 The UM Library marked the occasion of its millionth book online. Read more about the millionth book.
Jan 2008 New guide available: Google Book Search Tips (pdf). Google Book Search will help you find books digitized in the Michigan Digitization Project (MBooks) and Google's partnerships with other libraries around the world. Our new guide provides tips for searching Google Book Search, including how to download full-text books, how to locate a physical copy of books that are only available in snippet view, and how to identify what volume and issue of a journal when it is unclear in your search results.
Jan 2008 Michigan Digitization Project (wikipedia entry)

Examples:

These 4 examples below are items that can be found in Mirlyn and are in the public domain (that is, freely accessible).

 

See also: Hathi Trust Help & FAQ | Blog for Library Technology | Full list of MDP related news & resources | Other Google Book Search Partners

If you have questions about the project, please send them to mdp-help@umich.edu.