29.07.20
Too much of Australia’s literary heritage is out of print. The ASA is working with a research team at the University of Melbourne and Australian public libraries on a pilot project to breathe new life into important out-of-print Australian books by digitising them, licensing them into public libraries for digital lending, and making them available for sale as ebooks.
Funding for the project will fully cover all digitisation costs, and authors will receive royalties from libraries on loans, as well as royalties on any retail sales. Libraries around Australia will promote the titles to their readers, raising awareness of these books to new generations.
At the same time, the research team will be conducting research that seeks to better understand the value of out-of-print books, library promotion activities, and the relationship between library lending and sales.
If you’re an author of a culturally significant Australian book that has gone out of print and the rights to your work have reverted (or you are entitled to revert the rights), we’d love to hear from you to see whether it might be suitable for inclusion in this project. We are looking to select titles from a diverse range of authors, geographically spread around the country, and covering all publication dates. Expressions of interest are due by 1 September 2020.
As funding is limited, titles will be selected via a phased prioritisation process involving library collections experts. If you have already expressed interest and provided a list of your available titles, the research team has your details and will be in contact. Please note, not all available books will be able to be included.
For more information about the project, and the title selection criteria, click here, or contact Dr Airlie Lawson, airlie.lawson@unimelb.edu.au
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