Congratulations to the Nebraska Library Commission for spearheading an initiative to add Creative Commons-licensed book editions to the library collection. Michael Sauers, Technology Innovation Librarian for the Commission, was asked, “Why don’t libraries start cataloging and offering CC-licensed works?”

The NLC staff went to work cataloging and then posting electronic versions of CC-licensed works like Cory Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom and Steven Poole’s Trigger Happy to the library’s web server. Patrons can now access these and other CC-licensed books from the online library catalog. Sauers adds that some of the CC-licensed titles were also printed as spiral-bound books so they could be added to the library’s physical collection.

The Nebraska Library Commission now offers nine CC-licensed electronic titles, and hopes to add more. This is fantastic news, and we encourage other libraries to follow their lead. It’d be great for Michael and the NLC to document and share the specifics of the cataloging process so other libraries can try it too!

Check out some photos from the NLC.