Enhancing Existing Content By Transforming Books to Databases

The University of Iowa Libraries has converted a few print texts to databases, working with an in-house programmer and web developer. These are resource intensive projects, so we do few of them and only for items that are institutionally important. In each case, we are re-envisioning the print text to see how it can be most effectively used online and as such are not merely hosting a previously published PDF but creating a new way to interact with the material. This presentation discusses issues and considerations that have come up in the process.