ANN ARBOR – The University of Michigan joined a collaboration between the Library of Michigan and the presses of U-M, Wayne State University and Michigan State University to bring a curated collection of regional e-books to the state’s residents.
The e-book collection features 300 e-books about the Great Lakes region and Michigan published by university presses, including works that have won the prestigious Michigan Notable Books award.
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Anyone in the state of Michigan can access the collection via geolocation at ReadMichigan.org.
A founding partner of the initiative, the Michigan Humanities also provided funding for the project.
Press directors from U-M, MSU and Wayne State issued this joint statement about the collection:
University presses are mission-driven to advance knowledge about our communities. Our state is unique in having three leading university presses that are all supported and advanced by flagship public universities.
This e-book collection allows the inspirational work that our authors and staff do to be accessed in every finger of the Mitten. We are so excited to partner with the Library of Michigan and the Michigan Humanities Council to share these educational, entertaining and informational books with our neighbors.
Launched by the Library of Michigan, the Michigan Notable Books program began in 1991 as part of Michigan Week, with the purpose of highlighting the many peoples, locations and things that make life in Michigan vibrant.
“As we approach our 30th anniversary of the Michigan Notable Book Award, there is no better way to celebrate than to work in collaboration with our strongest publishing and community partners to increase access to these important books,” state librarian of Michigan Randy Riley said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how the library and educational community across Michigan integrate ReadMichigan.org e-books into their own local e-book programs and we stand ready to support that effort in any way we are able.”
With the popularity of media platforms like Netflix, Apple and Amazon, library organizations and progressive publishing continue to experiment with delivering access to potential readers.
“E-books in general increase the efficiency of delivering books to readers, but most library distribution models apply artificial constraints on availability, forcing users onto waiting lists for popular books,” senior director the BiblioLabs platform hosting the e-book collection, Mitchell Davis, said in a statement. “This project has a spirit of cooperation but also a spirit of sustainability that is unique.”