Google, University of Minnesota Enter Agreement
<p><strong>Minneapolis — June 6</strong><br />The University of Minnesota (U of M) and the 11 other Midwest universities in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) have entered into a groundbreaking collective agreement with Google to digitize up to 10 million bound volumes, nearly doubling the number of universities participating in the Google Books Library Project.<br /><br />The agreement allows Google to digitize significant portions from CIC library general collections. </p><p>In addition, collection areas of particular strength and distinction will be contributed from each university. </p><p>The distinctive collections the U of M will have digitized could include, Scandinavian history, literature and culture; forestry; beekeeping; and medicine, including oncology, radiology and pediatrics.<br /><br />This collaborative approach brings together the holdings of some of the world's largest libraries into one massive digital resource. </p><p>The CIC includes U of M, University of Chicago, University<br />of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<br /><br />"The University of Minnesota is making history today," Provost Thomas Sullivan said. "For our students and researchers, speedy access to printed volumes will change the face and pace of scholarly research. Digitizing these collections is also a public good and supports the land-grant mission of the University of Minnesota."<br /><br />This project fits well into the U of M's goal to become one of the top three public research universities in the world, Sullivan said. </p><p>"With this agreement, the university joins the ranks of prestigious institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University and Oxford University, which already are participating in the Google Book Search project," Sullivan said.<br /><br />The collaborative nature of this agreement makes it unique. In fact, this library-digitization agreement is one of the largest cooperative actions of its kind in higher education, said Wendy Pradt Lougee, U of M librarian and member of the six-person team that negotiated the agreement with Google.<br /><br />"By harnessing the complementary strengths and resources of CIC institutions, this unprecedented agreement will give students, scholars and the public access to an extraordinary range of collections of distinction," Lougee said. "Google's vast capacity for digitization far exceeds that of any of the participating institutions alone, making this effort a true partnership that reveals the historical depth of these collections from the heartland."<br /><br />The contract between Google and the CIC institutions is for six years with an option to renew. </p><p>Google will fund digitization of up to 10 million volumes in CIC collections, including as many as 1 million volumes from the University of Minnesota. </p><p>Each CIC institution will cover the costs of preparing the books for digitization. Prior to the Google Book Library initiative, libraries estimated the costs of digitization at about $60 per volume, according to the CIC.</p><p>Hence, the value of this project to the University of Minnesota could reach $60 million.</p>
