UF has received a $79,000 grant to digitize out-of-print books.
The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation gave UF $79,000 in January to digitize out-of-print books on the history and culture of Florida and the Caribbean. It will take about two years to make the books digital.
UF’s libraries selected 46 books published from 1968 to 1992 it wanted to digitize. The list will be narrowed down to 30 books by scholarly advisors.
These particular books were selected because the history and culture of Florida and the Caribbean are some of the university’s major areas of study, said Bess de Farber, the grants manager for UF’s libraries.
“The University of Florida Press has focused on these themes as well, in their selection of their topics to publish about,” de Farber said.
The authors of the books still need to be contacted before the digitization process will be complete, de Farber said.
Kyle Bridge, a 25-year-old UF American history graduate student, said he prefers a real book, but understands that digital books increase access to information.
“I think people are becoming increasingly comfortable with digital books,” Bridge said.
The books will benefit current and future students alike, said Jack Davis, a UF professor in the department of history.
“Making these available in digital form will be invaluable to the students at UF and other universities,” Davis said.
