Please register using the 'link' below, NOT the "Log in to Register" button above.
To register for this session, click this link: Back(list) to the Future: Making Older University Press Monographs Digitally Available
Many university press monographs from past decades remain digitally invisible and inaccessible. Books in the humanities often have a long half-life, meaning that they remain relevant and useful to scholars far after their original publication dates. This is a problem that libraries and publishers have been trying to address for years, with existing initiatives providing only limited and sometimes contested access. In this webinar, staff from the University of Michigan Press will discuss the approaches they are taking to make backlist monographs electronically available and, where possible, open access. The work of bringing hundreds of older books into digital availability has been challenging due to poor metadata, unclear rights ownership, broken contact with authors, and the expense of accessibility compliance. However, collaboration with the New York Public Library and the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Big Ten Open Books initiative has been invaluable. New technologies such as Generative AI and advanced conversion workflows have also been invaluable. Join us for an honest look at the challenges and opportunities of bringing monograph backlists “back to the future.”
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this class, students will be able to:
- Understand the value of making older scholarly monographs digitally accessible.
- Identify key challenges and considerations in digitizing backlist titles.
- Explore how partnerships and technologies can support efforts to increase access to legacy content.
University of Michigan Press Staff Presenters
Brandi Borkovsky
Emily Fernandez
Jamie Jones
Charles Watkinson
Intended Audience
Academic librarians
Digital scholarship and technology practitioners
Open access advocates and policy makers
Lyrasis Learning events are delivered using the Zoom videoconferencing platform and will have AI-generated captions available. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is available upon request. If you need ASL or other accommodations to support your participation in the course, please contact us at es@lyrasis.org at least 2 weeks in advance of the event or as soon as possible.