The British Library has published its Digitisation Strategy 2008-2011 and in the document it focuses on a continued commitment to produce a critical mass of digitised content. They write in the
We aim to help researchers advance knowledge by becoming a leading player in digitisation. We will produce a critical mass of digitised content, reflecting the breadth and depth of our collection. We will provide a compelling user experience that facilitates innovative methods of research and meets 21st century requirements for interacting with content.
Over the next 3 years we will build on our existing digitisation programme. Current projects include the digitisation of:
- 20 million pages of 19th century literature [approximately 80,000 books];
- 1 million pages of historic newspapers in addition to the 3m already digitised;
- 4,000 hours of Archival Sound Recordings in addition to the 4,000 hours already digitised;
- 100,000 pages of Greek manuscripts.
The British Library has been very active in digitalisation and in it’s attempts to make sure that the public knows the value and importance of this work. Even though I tend to have a sceptical approach to feelgood documents such as these the British Library have proven themselves to be great open access activists.