UK Libraries Expands Resources With HathiTrust

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 21, 2019) — University of Kentucky Libraries has joined HathiTrust, a growing, global partnership with more than 145 major research institutions and libraries. This new partnership will bolster the accessibility of resources currently available to UK faculty, staff and students. UK is the first institution in Kentucky to join HathiTrust.

Since launching in 2008, HathiTrust partner institutions and libraries have contributed more than 16.8 million volumes to the digital library. Working collaboratively through member institutions, the organization aims to transform research libraries to serve the wider scholarly enterprise, address large scale challenges, and manage programs that preserve and expand access to the scholarly and cultural record.

Asked about the partnership, Mary Beth Thomson, senior associate dean, said, "UK Libraries is committed to digital preservation and widening access, and we look forward to working with the HathiTrust membership in their efforts to preserve the cultural record and to providing the UK community with access to an increasingly comprehensive collection of digital content. We’re excited UK faculty, staff and students will now have the ability to download the full-text PDFs of over 6 million volumes in the public domain.”

Named for the Hindi word for elephant, hathi, and drawing on the symbolic qualities of memory, wisdom and strength associated with the animal, the mission of the HathiTrust is to contribute to research, scholarship and the common good by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating and sharing the record of human knowledge. HathiTrust is funded by member libraries and governed by members of the libraries through its board of governors. More information on HathiTrust is available at www.hathitrust.org.

UK Libraries consists of nine major facilities on UK's campus. As the premier research library in the Commonwealth, UK Libraries provides ever-expanding access to quality information resources, teaching and learning programs and services, and excellent learning spaces. More information about UK Libraries can be found on their website.