Oxbridge libraries embark on joint digitisation initiatives with donor’s aid. Matthew Reisz writes
Substantial parallel donations to the university libraries of Oxford and Cambridge have allowed them to ramp up their digitisation efforts in a rare spirit of collaboration.
Bodleian Libraries in Oxford was seeking to raise £3 million for its digitisation plans when it was given half the sum by Leonard S. Polonsky, an alumnus of Lincoln College, Oxford, and executive chairman of Hansard Global.
He had already donated the same amount to the Cambridge University Library to support its plans to create a “digital library for the 21st century”.
Sarah Thomas, Bodley’s Librarian in Oxford, said the libraries “realise the potency of digitisation in terms of reaching a wider audience and helping scholars do things they couldn’t do before”. She added that it also helped preserve collections.
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