U-M makes historical reprints available

ANN ARBOR—The Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan University Library has joined with Lightning Source Inc. to bring high quality hardbound reprints of 19 th century books to libraries and booksellers.

By using the Lightning Source print-on-demand technology, the library now offers readers and libraries new copies of many 19 th century volumes in the Making of America series. These books have been difficult to find either because they are long out of print or because original copies have deteriorated.

"These volumes are a boon to libraries in filling gaps in their 19th century collections, to scholars in need of older, difficult to find texts and to readers with all manner of historical and genealogical interest in 19 th century America," said William Gosling, University Librarian for the University of Michigan’s University Library .

The volumes are produced from digital images created through U-M’s University Library’s preservation reformatting program. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can be accessed online, but that now can also be used to create new print copies, making the material available for a variety of uses.

The Making of America collection ( http://moa.umdl.umich.edu) and the University of Michigan Historical Mathematics collection ( www.hti.umich.edu/u/umhistmath) each contain several thousand digitized volumes and as online collections have experienced enormous use. At the same time, the library has had a steady stream of request for reprints from these collections.

"The library understands and values the utility of print and has been searching for a way to meet these requests," Gosling said.

Now, through an arrangement with Lightning Source, a user can view the full text of the nearly 10,000 titles in these collections and can purchase a reprint directly from the collection interface using an online ordering system. Through this combination of print and online availability, U-M’s University Library makes available to the public access to a rich and important portion of the American scholarly and cultural heritage.

For more information, visit U-M’s University Library’s Scholarly Publishing Office at http://spo.umdl.umich.edu or Lightning Source at www.lightningsource.com