PRO: IUPUI developing first philanthropy digital library

Philanthropy Resources Online (PRO), developed and maintained by the IUPUI University Library, offers the public free and unlimited access to digital images of the actual pages of books, journals and pamphlets relating to philanthropic activity such as the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Journal of Voluntary Action Research (1972-1988), the report of the 1975 Filer Commission and numerous essays, sermons and texts.

Traditionally, academic researchers must visit an archives or library to access important materials. "The original copies of some documents on PRO are of limited availability and so fragile that it would be irresponsible to circulate them widely," said Todd Daniels-Howell, university archivist and head of special collections. "The pages of some of these significant documents will literally break apart in your hands."

The IUPUI Digital Libraries Team carefully scans the materials and performs optical character recognition so that all of the materials in PRO are fully searchable. Researchers looking for key words or phrases can search the entire online archive with a single click, rather than spending years scouring the pages of deteriorating materials.

No fees or charges are required to view the documents and all materials can be printed using a standard Internet browser.

"Despite the considerable cost associated with creating a digital archive of this caliber, the University Library is committed to providing it for free to the public," said David Lewis, dean of the IUPUI University Library. "There’s just something not right about charging scholars a fee to access documents that chronicle voluntary and public benefit activities."

ARNOVA, the Ford Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the IU Center on Philanthropy all provided financial backing.