Yale to digitise Middle Eastern history sources

Two recent US federal grants will allow Yale to digitize rare primary sources of Middle Eastern history, making them accessible to researchers worldwide. The Yale University Library has received a $650,000 four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to digitize Syrian and Palestinian government records, and a $240,000 joint grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Joint Information Systems Committee to digitize Middle Eastern scholarly materials, according to a press release Thursday. The library will use advanced technology to translate the digitized text into searchable text, which will be available online. "Both grants are 'building block' projects," Associate University Librarian Ann Okerson said. "By doing them we will provide standards and infrastructure, linking and collaborative opportunities for other libraries."