How can the United States Library of Congress -- one of the world's largest repositories of information -- bring its collections into the digital age? It's a question library leadership has been attempting to answer, and a collaboration between the Library of Congress and University of Nebraska–Lincoln scholars and students has laid a strong foundation for machine learning to play a role in future digital strategies. In 2018, the Digital Strategy Division of the Library of Congress released a five-year digital strategy for the library, with a goal of maximizing the value of its collections for research. As part of that strategy, the library began seeking a collaboration to test machine learning across different materials, since the library's collections are so varied. The Aida digital libraries research lab, led by Husker researchers Elizabeth Lorang, associate professor in University Libraries, and Leen-Kiat Soh, professor of computer science and engineering, were awarded a research services contract following a call for proposals from the library.

As part of that strategy, the Library began seeking a collaboration to test machine learning across different materials, since the library's collections are …