Funded by a $3-million grant from the Mellon Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has embarked on an electronic publishing initiative for history monographs. Begun in 1999, the 5-year History E-Book Project's aim is to "assist scholars in the electronic publishing of monographs in history, to help assure the continued viability of the history monograph in today's changing publishing environment, and to explore the intellectual possibilities of new technologies" [1]. To this end, the project is identifying and digitizing 500 backlist, seminal history monographs. In addition, the project will support the creation of 85 new electronic monographs. Authors of the new titles are asked to "include electronic capabilities in ways that go beyond the merely illustrative and include varying degrees of reader access to wide and deeper sources of information" [2]. Whenever possible, hyperlinks will be added throughout the collection demonstrating the interconnectivity of ideas and theories throughout the texts 

The History E-Book Project's collection of monographs will be distributed at http://www.historyebook.org/, using the University of Michigan's Digital Library Production Service. The academic community will gain access to the collection through subscriptions via their institution's libraries. Electronic-only subscriptions will be priced lower than the cost of print and will be available through several subscription options as a site license. Royalties will be paid on a usage basis. The first of the project titles are expected to be available this fall. The intent is that this project will continue beyond the conclusion of the grant in 2004 as additional publishers and learned societies elect to electronically publish titles through the project. For a more detailed description of the project, go to http://www.historyebook.org/

University Presses currently developing new titles for the project:

• University of California Press
• Columbia University Press
• Harvard University Press
• Johns Hopkins University Press
• MIT Press
• University of Michigan Press
• New York University Press
• University of North Carolina Press
• Oxford University Press
• Rutgers University Press

• American Historical Association
• Middle East Studies Association
• Organization of American Historians
• Renaissance Society of America
• Society for the History of Technology

[1] from ACLS website
[2] American Council of Learned Societies, "The History E-Book Project: A New Electronic Publishing Initiative for Scholarly Monographs in History: A Guide for Authors, Editors and Libraries", 2000, p. 17.