“Libraries are inherently islands of freedom and antidotes to fanaticism” – James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress
The prototype for the World Digital Library was unveiled yesterday to a group of reporters in Paris.
The Library, expected to launch in 2008, is an online initiative created by the U.S. Library of Congress, the U.N. cultural body UNESCO and 5 international partner libraries; Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the National Library of Egypt, the National Library of Brazil, the National Library of Russia and the Russian State Library
“The international digital library will be free and multilingual, with contributions from around the world, including rare books, films, prints, sound recordings and musical scores.”
John Van Oudenaren, a senior adviser for the project says the goal is to create a “high-quality, fluent user experience, no matter what language you are using.”
The Library has plenty of support from the for-profit world with Google, Apple and Intel all contributing on some level.
If it can be done on an international level one must wonder why it isn’t being be done on a national level? Where is the united approach to get academic libraries in this country to create a digital archive of its rare books, films, prints, sound recordings and musical scores that is free and multilingual?
International Tribune article on the prototype unveiling
2005 Washington Post article on the creation of the World Digital Library
The quote above taken from the 2005 OpEd in the Washington Post by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, A Library for the New World