Fordham University Press and Fordham University Libraries have received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to produce a rare series of philosophy eBooks through the library’s digital portal.
The $81,000 grant, part of the Humanities Open Book Program, will allow the press to make publicly accessible eBooks out of 21 previously published titles with an emphasis on American philosophy. Many of the titles chosen are books already out of print, said Kate O’Brien-Nicholson, associate director of the press.
Among those books being revitalized in ebook form are: Peirce and Contemporary Thought by Kenneth L. Ketner (1994);The Metaphysics of Experience: A Companion to Whitehead’s Process and Reality by Elizabeth Kraus (1997); and Charles S. Peirce: On Norms and Ideals by Vincent G. Potter (1996).
“Books on American philosophy became the natural choice, as our selection process revealed that the titles in the series have lasting and universal appeal,” said O’Brien-Nicholson. The books were selected based on both circulation records and sales records, she said.
The press has published more than 3,000 scholarly books since its founding in 1907 and has long been recognized as a leading American publisher of philosophy scholarship, she said.
Library Director Linda LoSchiavo said the grant will help grow and broaden the library’s digital collections.
“The out-of-print titles, which will become available freely through the library’s open access institutional repository, DigitalResearch@Fordham, represent some of the leading scholars and thinkers in the field of philosophy,” she said.
