CEMaT Ed Tech Connection

As the flattening of the world becomes a commonly agreed upon concept, building understanding between cultures and countries is increasingly important. Somewhat similar to the groundbreaking Encyclopedia of Life web project (which was written about in this blog in July 2007), the proposed World Digital Library will seek to distribute an unprecedented amount of “significant primary materials from cultures around the world” via the Internet. All kinds of media will be archived and made freely available in multiple languages as early as late 2008 or the beginning of 2009.

The project, proposed by James Billington, Librarian of Congress, will include robust search functionality, translation, and magnification, among other tools. The project is being spearheaded by a group of international institutions led by the Library of Congress and including Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the National Library of Brazil, the National Library and Archives of Egypt, the National Library of Russia, and the Russian State Library.