Libraries

Libraries

The Libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance are aligned in the vision of uniting our separate collections into one collection, shared and fully networked: the BIG Collection. By this phrase we mean a holistic and comprehensive understanding of what a library "collection" is: not simply the things we hold, but our services; our people; our expertise; our technology; and our infrastructure.

In advancing this future of interdependence and excellence, we are guided by our North Star in everything that we do:

In order to advance a just, trustworthy, scalable & sustainable open knowledge ecosystem, make open, more equitable scholarship our lead purpose.

On these pages, you'll find more about the services, programs, and community that are advancing this vision in a principles-centered, mission-driven, values-aligned way.

Academy Owned Scholarly Publishing Landscape Report
Launched in the fall of 2022, the Big Ten Academic Alliance [BTAA] landscape assessment of academy owned scholarly publishing activities explores the shared challenges and opportunities facing publishing programs and operations within the Big Ten institutions.
big ten open books
Big Ten Open Books
Big Ten Open Books connects readers everywhere to fully accessible, trusted books from leading university presses. Established as a new model for open-access publishing focused on equity and inclusion, we invite you to explore our Gender and Sexuality studies collection.
BIG Collection: Resource Access Policy Harmonization Report
The Resource Access Policy Harmonization pilot team is pleased to share their final report. Aspirational in nature, the report includes the new BTAA Resource Sharing Agreement plus Scanning Standards; reaffirms the Principles and Protocols for Sharing Special Collections within the Big Ten; and articulates important next steps for future pilot projects and working group investigations.

Library News


Student Newspaper Chronicles Digitization of Books at IU

Apr 25, 2009, 21:04 PM

In its April 23 edition, the Indiana Daily Student reported on the current and future digitization of Indiana University library volumes by Google. IU's folklore collection, the largest in the world, is the first CIC "collection of distinction" to be...

In its April 23 edition, the Indiana Daily Student reported on the current and future digitization of Indiana University library volumes by Google.

IU's folklore collection, the largest in the world, is the first CIC "collection of distinction" to be digitized as part of the CIC's partnership with the Google Book Search project. Digitizing the folklore collection will begin in mid-May and with a goal to be finished by the end of the summer, according to the article.

The article quotes Patricia Steele, Ruth Lilly dean of University Libraries, as saying, “I think some people believe we are devaluing the book by digitizing them,” Steele said. “But by digitizing them we are providing a new discovery mechanism that the book never had before. For many people, if something isn’t online, it doesn’t exist.”