Luxagraf

Good news from the British Library System, finally, some rare books are set to be available in digital form. From the BBC:

More than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public will go online thanks to a mass digitization program at the British Library. The program focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions.

The first 25 million pages are expected to take two years to complete. Texts which are hard to get hold of will particularly benefit from the digitization.

For example, authors who were only ever published outside the great centers of literary life have tended not to remain in print and have often been forgotten. Now, these authors will have a second chance to reach a readership.

“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 Jensen said.

Approximately 30 terabytes of storage will be required to accommodate the project’s output.

Visit Site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7018210.stm