Making Widener Digital

Harvard is one of a handful of institutions in a joint venture with Google that could be the biggest development to hit the library since the card catalog went digital. Google’s pilot program—also underway at the University of Michigan, Oxford University, Stanford University and the New York Public Library—will begin the daunting task of digitally scanning Harvard University Library’s (HUL) massive library holdings, beginning with some 40,000 volumes. This random selection of content from the Harvard Depository will soon be searchable online at Google Print—a site that harnesses the power of Google’s internet search capabilities for an online library catalog.

The result will be a whole new way to search the library: unlike HOLLIS, WorldCat or other similar online catalogs, Google Print actually searches the content of the books for keywords and returns the appropriate titles and locations—and sometimes passages. The project plans to make holdings in the public domain completely available online and some excerpts from copyrighted material as well. Furthermore, this service will be available to more than just undergraduates of the respective participating universities, but to the public at large. If all goes well with the pilot program, HUL has the option of allowing Google to scan the entirety of its 15 million volumes for the Google Print project—something HUL has been unable to do for years due to prohibitive costs.

This digitization is an exciting prospect, one that could revolutionize libraries as we know them. While there is already talk of tying HOLLIS into the new search engine for the use of Harvard affiliates, the possibilities extend much further. We hope that HUL will eventually create a digital borrowing system that allows affiliates to access even its copyrighted holdings, much in the same way that JSTOR and other e-resources allow. We understand the potential constraints of copyright law, but we hope that Harvard makes the effort to push this project to its maximum potential. Such simple and broad access to knowledge in one place could change the way our scholars do research and remove physical boundaries from the pursuit of knowledge. Faculty or students abroad could access Widener’s legendary stacks; students in the Quad could access the Loeb Design Library’s holdings without braving the hike; the disabled and infirm could access volumes of information with ease. And most significant of all: Books will always be available, no matter what time of day, how many patrons demand access or however rare the physical text.

Further, the digitization has to potential to preserve volumes that won’t physically survive the test of time for future generations, as well as cut down on the number of “lost” materials. The digitization of HUL also presents some fascinating possibilities for linking collections across disciplines and media—text, visual art, video, recorded music and manuscript. With the emphasis on interdisciplinary study in the Harvard Curricular Review, such universal access is ideal.

It is good to see Harvard leading the way in something other than the size of its endowment. Such an innovative venture shows that HUL is not only concerned with maintaining the largest collection, but also the best. After all, Harvard’s real wealth lies not simply in its stock holdings or capital investments or even its students and faculty; ultimately, it is Harvard’s library collection which will be truly invaluable to the future.