The Business of Giving Internet Archive’s Founder and Digital Librarian, Brewster Kahle and Director of Partnerships Wendy Hanamura Joins Denver Frederick
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Sep 10, 2020 
Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, and Wendy Hanamura, its Director of Partnerships, dive into the ambitious mission to create a digital Library of Alexandria. They discuss the challenge of digitizing out-of-print books and the methods used to choose four million titles for scanning. Brewster elaborates on the digital lending model and the role of libraries in this transformation. The duo emphasizes how greater accessibility can profoundly benefit diverse communities, alongside navigating the complexities of copyright. Their vision aims to broaden public knowledge and empower global learners.
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Life-Changing Book Discovered In A Library
- Wendy recounts finding Executive Order 9066 in a public library and how it revealed her family's internment history.
- She uses that personal discovery to argue many life-changing books are out of print and need digitization for students today.
Curate With Scholars And Existing Data
- Do curate the four million titles by working with scholars, librarians and existing projects like Open Syllabus.
- Wendy recommends combining multiple curated lists including widely held library titles to prioritize digitization.
Digital Lending Mirrors Physical Lending
- The Archive treats digital lending like physical lending: buy copies, digitize holdings, and lend under library principles.
- Brewster argues that achieving a 'complete library' requires scanning what libraries hold when e-books are unavailable.
