OCA book scanning at the U of California

Mass Digitization: Open Content Alliance and the UC Libraries, CDLINFO Newsletter, December 14, 2006.  Excerpt:

On December 6, 2006, Microsoft released the beta Live Search Books, providing a new portal to access UC libraries books scanned by the Internet Archive (IA) for the Open Content Alliance....

The Open Content Alliance (OCA) is one of two mass digitization projects now underway within the UC libraries. (The other is Google, about which more will be forthcoming in future articles as its workflow and scope unfolds.) With the approval of the University Librarians, the UC libraries became one of the earliest contributing members of the OCA. OCA is a coordinating body whose purpose is to build open access electronic collections and make them available through the Internet Archive (IA). UC library books scanned with Microsoft funding for the Open Content Alliance are now available through both the Internet Archive interface and the Microsoft Live Search Books (beta)....

CDL [California Digital Library] is investigating the implications of integrating the content generated through the OCA and Google projects into our UC library access systems and will be consulting with UC library advisory groups as the issues are better defined. Content scanned by Google will be available through WorldCat, and discussions are underway to provide OCA-scanned materials through OCLC as well....

[T]o formalize the content selection process...[UC formed] a Mass Digitization Collection Advisory Committee (MDCAC).  MDCAC's charge will include developing an internal process for the review, identification, and selection of collections for scanning across the UC libraries; developing criteria for evaluating potential collections for scanning....