British Library Goes More Digital

Do you have an interest in old, obscure books? Then the British Library wants your attention. Over the next few years they’re going to digitize more than 100,000 volumes from their collection, focusing on books from the 19^th century, many of which have been out of print for decades.   "By digitizing the whole collection, we give access to the books without the filter of later judgments, whether based on taste or on the economics of printing and publishing," Dr. Kristian Jensen of the British Library told BBC News.   It’s not the first time the British Library has digitized part of its massive collection. But this ongoing project is perhaps the biggest, and will take in 18^th and 19^th century newspapers.   Once completed, users will be able to access the works through the British Library’s site or via their partner, Microsoft Live Search Books, although the Microsoft deal only covers work in the public domain. The books will be searchable by text, a boon for researchers hunting for keywords.   As Google has already signed up other major libraries at Stanford, Harvard and Oxford’s Bodleian, among others, times have never seemed better for bibliophiles and antiquarians.