The Organizational Phase of Project Open Book.

The Yale University Library is now organized to move ahead with Project Open Book, the conversion of 10,000 books from microfilm to digital imagery. In the first phase of the Project--the organizational phase--a Steering Committee was established that included several faculty members, and a project team was created. In addition, Yale conducted a formal bid process and selected the Xerox Corporation to serve as its principal partner in the project. Xerox has identified for Yale the required equipment, software, and services to complete the project, as well as their costs, and has proposed a three-phase implementation plan. The implementation will ultimately result in a conversion subsystem, browsing stations distributed on the campus network within the Yale Library, a subsystem for storing 10,000 books in digital form, and network access to high-quality image printers. The process leading to the selection of the vendor helped isolate areas of risk and uncertainty as well as key issues to be addressed during the life of the project. The Yale Library is now prepared to select the material for conversion to digital image form and to seek funding, initially for the first phase, and then for the entire project. This report reviews the purpose and scope of the project, outlines the steps taken in the first (organization) phase, and presents a summary of the results to date. (Author/KRN)