The New York Public Library Receives $5 Million Grant From Arcadia Fund For Digitization Project

Support will enable the Library to digitize scholarly publications and research materials


AUGUST 1, 2018 — The New York Public Library has received a $5 million grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, to increase the amount of scholarly publications available digitally and improve the ways in which users can access material which were previously only available in print.  

The grant will support the effort to improve the technologies that researchers will use to find and access these materials and establish the means to clear barriers, including copyright, to works in the public domain, orphan works, and out-of-print works.

With this grant in place, the Library will be able to advance its goal of creating the most accessible collection of digital research materials possible and move closer to a shared vision of providing library users access to all of the world’s books in digital format.

About Arcadia Fund

Arcadia is a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Library Trustee Peter Baldwin. It supports charities and scholarly institutions that preserve cultural heritage and the environment. Arcadia also supports projects that promote open access and all of its awards are granted on the condition that any materials produced are made available for free online. Since 2002, Arcadia has awarded more than $500 million to projects around the world.

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.