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Revs Digital Library Now Available Online

Revs Digital Library at StanfordStanford University’s new Revs Digital Library provides a web-based tour through the world of the automobile – its past, present and future.

In 2011, Stanford University and The Revs Institute for Automotive Research, Inc. in Naples, Florida established a partnership designed to provide access to the historic collections curated by the Revs Institute. As a result of this partnership, the new Revs Digital Library provides access to hundreds of thousands of images related to the history of auto racing and the cultural significance of the automobile.

The digital trove is a Stanford University Libraries project for the Revs Program on campus. Thanks to a gift from Revs Institute president Miles Collier, Stanford Libraries recently launched the online site, which includes nearly 200,000 images from 12 collections documenting automotive history. The website expands research opportunities for scholars and students.

The overall collection at Revs currently includes nearly one million images and is constantly growing. New image collections will be added as they are received, digitized and processed, said Gabrielle Karampelas, the director of communications and development for Stanford University Libraries. The content will be stored in the Stanford Digital Repository.

Launched in 2011, the Revs Program is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to the study of cars. Collier said that when his organization looked for a partner to develop a digital library site, they soon discovered that Stanford Libraries was the best choice.

“Stanford’s digital map project and their work in documenting the development of Silicon Valley were projects we looked to as emblematic of the Stanford University Libraries’ ability to help us achieve our goals,” said Collier.

Additionally, Hearst Publishing Corp. recently transferred its entire archive of Road & Track magazine to Stanford University Libraries, which will preserve and digitize the collection for future research.

The Revs Digital Library can be found at revslib.stanford.edu. In addition to database access, Revs can also provide high quality images for publication or research.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit revslib.stanford.edu.

[Source: Revs Institute; Stanford University]