It’s still considered the definitive book on North Dakota’s history.
And it will soon be available as an “open educational resource.”
The University of North Dakota will soon begin digitizing Elwyn Robinson’s “History of North Dakota.” The book was written in the 1960s, and has been updated since then.
"This is the seminal work on the history of North Dakota," said UND Dean of Libraries and Information Resources Stephanie Walker. "It's still well-used. and it is still available as a textbook -- for money."
Walker says the plan is to make it open-source.
"It would be really nice to have it available to the students, and to other researchers, electronically, at no cost." Walker said.
UND has purchased new scanning hardware and software to accomplish the job. Walker says the plan is to add enhancements to the text, making it more interactive.
"My new librarian is going to be doing some things like adding mapping software to the book," Walker said. "So, as you're reading along, you could click on 'Places,' and pull up maps and images, and make it a bit more interactive. Kind of nice if you're talking about a memorial in Bismarck, to be able to pull up a picture of it."
Walker says the work will begin this fall – and the hope is to have it available by next May.