Tens of thousands of HathiTrust volumes are closed for reading access simply because they lack the metadata necessary for HathiTrust’s automated rights algorithm to make a confident assessment. In the spring of 2020, HathiTrust’s Copyright Review Manager eyed an opportunity and stepped into gear to create a simple project that would enable volunteers from HathiTrust’s member institutions to open up more HathiTrust volumes for reading access while working from home due to Covid19 closures. And the Publication Date Project was born!

Three staff from the UC Santa Cruz library volunteered to join the project and were trained by a CDL staff member who is an expert reviewer in HathiTrust’s Copyright Review program.

Our lightning talk will focus on our experience working on this project.