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The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international
digital library A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital ...
operated by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
and the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences, and to build capacity in partner institutions to narrow the
digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age i ...
within and among countries. It aims to expand non-English and non-western content on the Internet, and contribute to scholarly research. The library intends to make available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from cultures around the world, including manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, architectural drawings, and other significant cultural materials. The WDL opened with 1,236 items. As of early 2018, it lists more than 18,000 items from nearly 200 countries, dating back to 8,000 BCE.


History and concept

After almost 20 years without participation, the United States re-established its permanent delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2003. Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, was nominated as a commissioner of the U.S. National Commission to UNESCO and was invited to give a plenary speech at its inaugural conference in June 2005. His speech, entitled ''A View of the Digital World Library'', described a vision in which the rich collections that "institutions, libraries, and museums have preserved could be given back to the world free of charge and in a new form far more universally accessible than any forms that have preceded it."
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
Inc. became the first partner of this
public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Adminis ...
and donated $3 million to support development of the World Digital Library in 2005. At the National Commission's 2006 annual conference, Dr. John Van Oudenaren, Senior Advisor for the World Digital Library at the Library of Congress, outlined a project plan for bringing Dr. Billington's vision to fruition. Foremost was the belief that the World Digital Library should engage partners in planning the four main project areas:
technical architecture Information technology architecture is the process of development of methodical information technology specifications, models and guidelines, using a variety of information technology notations, for example Unified Modeling Language (UML), within ...
, selection, governance, and funding. This was achieved in December 2006, when 45 national library directors, library technical directors, and cultural and educational representatives from UNESCO met in Paris to discuss the development of the World Digital Library. The participants formed
working group A working group, or working party, is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. The groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdis ...
s to address the special challenges of each of the four project areas. The working groups met in the first half of 2007 and included professionals in the field of digital libraries – including
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
, library and information science, Web development, and fundraising. The working groups presented their findings to the larger WDL group in July 2007. Findings from this planning process were presented at the thirty-fourth session of the UNESCO General Conference in October 2007 in Paris, France. In early September 2008, the Organization of American States (OAS) agreed to join with the Library of Congress in developing the World Digital Library. Secretary General José Miguel Insulza signed the "Contributor Agreement" with Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, at an OAS headquarters ceremony. The World Digital Library was launched on April 21, 2009 at
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
headquarters in Paris, France.


Exhibits

Initial exhibits include *'' The Tale of Genji'', an 11th-century Japanese tale considered by some to be the first novel ever written; *ancient
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
texts that were used in the formation of
algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...
; Chinese
oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or turtle plastrons used in pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millennium BC, and is the earliest k ...
; *
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
copies of the '' Yongle Encyclopedia'', one of the largest compilations in Chinese literature; *A printed edition of the '' Huangdi Neijing'' dated c. 1115–1234; *an 8,000-year-old African painting of bleeding antelopes; *the Waldseemüller map, the earliest map to mention America by name; *the
Codex Gigas The ''Codex Gigas'' ("Giant Book"; cs, Obří kniha) is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world, at a length of . Very large illuminated bibles were a typical feature of Romanesque monastic book production, but even ...
; Samuel de Champlain's ''Des Sauvages: ou voyage de Samuel Champlain, de Brouages, faite en la France nouvelle l'an 1603''; *an audio recording of a 101-year-old former American slave, whose grandparents were owned by
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
; *the first
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
mention of the child Jesus; *World War I recruitment posters; *an 1899 Canadian government handbook for
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
n immigrants; *'' Doctrina Christiana, en lengua española y tagala,'' the first Spanish and
Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...
book ever published; *an Aleutian translation of the Bible by a Russian saint; Islamic manuscripts from
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
; Hyakumanto Darani; *rare photographs originating in Imperial China, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, and the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
; *the first recording of " La Marseillaise;" *the world's first film from the Lumiere brothers; a photolithographic reproduction of the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
; * calligraphy by Prem Behari Narain Raizada; the Huexotzinco Codex; *and the '' Nuremberg Chronicle.''


Partners

Partners in the World Digital Library project include:
American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee
* Bibliotheca Alexandrina *
Brown University Library The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, nicknamed "the Rock", is the primary teaching and research library for the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of five individual libraries whic ...
* Center for the Study of the History of Mexico * Columbus Memorial Library * Danish Royal Library *
Egyptian National Library and Archives The Egyptian National Library and Archives ( ar, دار الكتب والوثائق القومية; "Dar el-Kotob") is located in Nile Corniche, Cairo and is the largest library in Egypt, followed by Al-Azhar University and the Bibliotheca Alexa ...
* Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia * International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions *
Iraq National Library and Archive The Iraq National Library and Archive (INLA; ar, دار الكتب والوثائق العراقية, ''Dār al-Kutub wa al-Wathā’iq al-‘Irāqiyyah'') is the national library and national archives of Iraq. It is located in the Iraqi capita ...
* John Carter Brown Library * King Abdullah University of Science and Technology * Library Company of Philadelphia *
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
*
Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library The Mamma Haidara Commemorative Library is a private manuscript library in Timbuktu, Mali. Founded by Abdel Kader Haidara in 2000 and named in honor of his father, the library preserves one of the oldest and largest private manuscript collections ...
*
National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
* National Central Library * National Diet Library *
National Library of Azerbaijan The Mirza Fatali Akhundov National Library of Azerbaijan ( Azerbaijani: ''Mirzə Fətəli Axundov adına Azərbaycan Milli Kitabxanası'') is the national library of the Republic of Azerbaijan, located in Baku and founded in 1922. It is named afte ...
* National Library of Brazil * National Library of China * National Library of France *
National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...
* National Library of Korea * National Library of Russia * National Library of Serbia *
National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedis ...
* National Library of Uganda * National Library of Wales *
Qatar National Library Qatar National Library (QNL) is a non-profit organization under the umbrella of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.Qatar National Library.About the library." Retrieved 2014-12-14. The plans for the new national ...
, a project of Qatar Foundation * Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies * Russian State Library *St. Mark Coptic Library *Tetouan-Asmir Association * University Library in Bratislava * University of Pretoria Library *
Vilnius University Library Vilnius University Library or VU Library (also ''VUL'') is the oldest and one of the largest academic libraries of Lithuania. It was founded in 1570 by the Jesuits and as such is nine years older than Vilnius University. VU Library holds 5.4 mill ...
* Wellcome Library * Yale University Library * Yeltsin Presidential Library


See also

* Chinese Text Project * Digital Public Library of America * Europeana * Global Memory Net *
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* National Digital Library Program (NDLP) *
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...
* World Digital Library-Wikimedia partnership


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links


The World Digital Library
{{Authority control Internet properties established in 2009 Library of Congress UNESCO Aggregation-based digital libraries