We want to make it easy to integrate Big Ten Open Books into your library systems. As a unique collaboration between libraries and university presses, the program is naturally committed to creating digital collections that aspire to the highest standards of discoverability, accessibility, durability, and flexibility. Here is how the collection lives our shared values.

Discoverability

Big Ten Open Books collections are hosted on their own dedicated website on the Fulcrum platform provided by the University of Michigan. You may add this link to your library databases list and/or discovery system.

MARC records for the books are prepared by Backstage Library Works and are made available when each collection is launched, along with KBART files, for direct download. In addition, we work with major discovery and knowledge base vendors to create Big Ten Open Books collections that you may choose to activate in their systems. Please see the Metadata section below for a link to the MARC and KBART files as well as a list of vendors and systems that contain our collections.

Books in the Big Ten Open Books collections are also distributed via JSTOR, Project MUSE, and OAPEN. They are indexed in the Directory of Open Access Books. These initiatives help to connect these books to broader audiences globally. If your library patrons use these services, they may already be discovering and using Big Ten Open Books!

Accessibility

All titles have been converted to reflowable EPUB3 files with alt-text and described-by text. The files are produced using a Benetech Certified Global Accessible workflow. The Fulcrum platform that delivers the version of record of the titles meets the latest WCAG 2AA Standards and reports its compliance with WCAG 2.0 and Section 508 through a regularly updated VPAT.

Durability

Without an explicit commitment to digital preservation, it would be impossible for libraries and users to trust the stability of Big Ten Open Books. For this reason, the titles are not only preserved in the collections of the University of Michigan, but also managed in the distributed frameworks provided by CLOCKSS and the Academic Preservation Trust.

Flexibility

True open access requires that titles are not only readable for free, but also reusable in contexts such as open textbooks and text and data mining. While the choice of Creative Commons license is determined by individual publishers after consultation with their authors, the default is a CC-BY NC license. On the Big Ten Open Books site, each book's page includes its Creative Commons license.

Metadata

MARC (.mrc) records for the collections are available to download from ftp.fulcrum.org/bigten

MARC and KBART files for titles are delivered to the discovery services listed below:

Vendor	Product Type	Product Name
EBSCO	Discovery	EBSCO Discovery Service
EBSCO	Knowledge Base	Holdings & Linking Manager (HLM)
OCLC	Knowledge Base	Collection Manager
OCLC	Knowledge Base	WorldCat
OCLC	Knowledge Base	WorldShare
ProQuest / Ex Libris	Discovery	Primo (Central Discovery Index)
ProQuest / Ex Libris	Discovery	Summon (Central Discovery Index)
ProQuest / Ex Libris	Knowledge Base	360 (Client Center, Intota)
ProQuest / Ex Libris	Knowledge Base	Alma Community Zone
ProQuest / Ex Libris	Knowledge Base	SFX