Merge pull request #660 from harvard-lil/add-IDI

Add IDI blog post

app/_posts/2024-12-12-library-innovation-lab-announces-the-launch-of-institutional-data-initiative-to-expand-access-to-knowledge.md

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+---
+title: Library Innovation Lab Announces the Launch of Institutional Data Initiative
+  to Expand Access to Knowledge
+guest-author: Library Innovation Lab Team
+excerpt_separator: <!--more-->
+---
+![Library Innovation Lab and Institutional Data Initiative logos](https://lil-blog-media.s3.amazonaws.com/idi-logo-7Q2.png)
+**Cambridge, MA** – Harvard Law School’s Library Innovation Lab (LIL) is proud to announce the official [launch](https://institutionaldatainitiative.org/hello-world.html) of the [Institutional Data Initiative (IDI)](https://institutionaldatainitiative.org/), a groundbreaking program helping libraries, government agencies, and other knowledge institutions share digital collections with their patrons while improving the accuracy and reliability of AI tools for all. 
+<!--more-->
+First developed by Greg Leppert at the Library Innovation Lab, and now led by Leppert as Executive Director, IDI seeks to redefine the creation and stewardship of the knowledge and datasets that define AI research. 
+
+Following in the footsteps of LIL’s [Caselaw Access Project](http://case.law), the foundational dataset of IDI will be nearly one million public domain books, created thanks to the wide-ranging resources and expertise of the Harvard Library system. By prioritizing the assembly and release of open access public domain materials, as well as using [principles developed at LIL](https://lil.law.harvard.edu/our-work/librarianship-of-ai/) for approaching large scale data with a library lens, IDI bridges the gap between model makers and knowledge institutions. 
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+IDI is the largest project to come out of LIL’s Democratizing Open Knowledge program, made possible by support from the [Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web](https://ffdweb.org).
+
+LIL Director Jack Cushman commented, “One of the goals of our lab is to incubate bold ideas and give them the resources to grow. IDI is a wonderful example of that. Our mission to bring library principles to technological frontiers is embedded in these efforts, and we are thrilled to see industry leaders and cultural heritage organizations support IDI’s work and promise. We look forward to supporting and collaborating with IDI, working to diversify and expand access to cultural heritage materials that help everyone.”
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+[Jonathan Zittrain](https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/jonathan-l-zittrain/), IDI and LIL faculty director, said “Libraries and other stewards of humanity's aggregated knowledge can think in terms of centuries — preserving it and providing access both for well-known uses and for aims completely unanticipated in ancient times or even recently. IDI's aim is to address newly-energized interest in otherwise-obscure and sometimes-forgotten texts in ways that keep knowledge institutions', and society's, values front and center. That means working towards access for all for public domain works that have remained fenced — access both for the human eye and for imaginative machine processing.”
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+____
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+*The Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School brings library principles to technological frontiers. They explore the future of libraries and the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge. Through innovative projects, platforms, and partnerships, the Lab aims to advance access to information and foster collaboration across disciplines.*
+
+**Contact:**
+Jack Cushman	
+Director, Harvard Library Innovation Lab
+[email protected]