(Creators of the project aspire to replenishment of a collection and attraction of partners)
The world digital library (WDL) which opening has taken place on April, 21st in the Parisian headquarters of the United Nations Organization concerning formation, sciences and cultures (UNESCO), contains about 1200 documents from more than two tens libraries and establishments of 19 countries. The interest shown to it in an opening day was “huge”, the employee of Library of the Congress of the USA John Van Oudenaren has informed that 615 000 individual visitors had seen more than seven millions pages. On their web site had come people from all countries of the world
The world digital library, the joint project of Library of the Congress of the USA, UNESCO and more than 30 global partners, opens access to the important primary sources, such, as manuscripts, cards, rare books, sound records, films, engravings, photos and architectural drawings, all on a source language. The site interface, including search and help functions, is accessible in seven languages: English, Arabian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and French.
According to the speech of Van Oudenaren, the important problem of the future is the attraction of new partners to present all countries of the world, and also replenishment of a collection of library has been presented.
According to his words, before opening WDL the director of Library of the Congress James Billington has dispatched letters “to heads of each national library and each national archive in the world”, having told it about the project and having suggested to discuss possibility of partner relations, and the General Director of UNESCO Koitiro Matsuura has made the same in letters to ministers of culture of all member countries of UNESCO.
Van Oudenaren, the senior adviser on WDL at Congress Library has told to web site America.gov on April, 27th that the unique way to transform the project in Originally World digital library was to invite to participation of all.
Earlier he has spent a digital videoconference with experts in the information resources, participating in work of conference INFOS2009 in a place Old Lesna, Slovakia. The library of Bratislava university, partner WDL, has transferred to the World digital library subjects from the Collection of Islamic manuscripts of Basagicha. This collection is included in UNESCO register “Memory of the world”, created on purpose to keep the most valuable archival exhibits all over the world.
According to the words of Van Oudenaren, in the World digital library is available variety of subjects from the register “Memory of the world” and they wish to concentrate their efforts to such content as special, unique, major cultural materials in the future.
Though in collection WDL there are rare books, Van Oudenaren has told that they were not engaged in mass numbering of books. Books supplement other cultural materials or represent a cultural value. In example Pragmatica, the first known printing edition in the South America, four-page edict of the king of Spain Phillip II from 1584, the Bible of a devil (Codex Gigas), 13 centuries created in the beginning in Bohemia (nowadays Czechia), and the first printing edition of classical Japanese work “the Story about Gendzi”, 1596-1615.
Also they hope that they will manage to expand not English-speaking and international content on the internet, they will like to provide presence in library of materials of various cultures, and not just western. One of project overall objectives consists in promoting intercultural mutual understanding, its authors underline.
WDL also it is directed on overcoming of "digital backlog” developing countries which will receive technical possibility of numbering of the cultural and historical collections, has informed Van Oudenaren.
ADDRESSING TO YOUTH
As the World digital library reflected as an educational resource, especially for students and other representatives of youth, it is calculated on the user familiar with the computer. According to the words of Van Oudenaren, they have worked hard for its optimisation on speed and functionality and that young men have got used to fast, high-functional commercial sites, they do not wish to wait five minutes while the site will react to button pressing.
Besides, young men do not wish to be simply passive users, they wish to share interesting things with the friends, and they give them such possibility, the expert has explained. For each document has offered in WDL, at least there are 46 options – from simple listing and loading before transfer on Twitter, Facebook and so on that you could share with friends that has interested you.
“If we want, that our project was claimed, useful and helped people to understand better each other, it is necessary for us to address to youth”, Van Oudenaren has told.
Also he noted that they would listen to opinions of visitors, to find out that is pleasant to them, and that is not pleasant, and they would improve their web site, adding new possibilities.
The site of the World digital library has been developed by Congress Library with technical assistance of the Egyptian Alexandria library in creation of system of search in the Arabian language and in other questions, has told Van Oudenaren. Partners WDL deliver a content, share technologies and render other services.
Financing arrives from private sources, including firm Google, Qatar fund, New York Carnegie Corporation, scientifically-technological University if a name of King Abdulla in Saudi Arabia, company Microsoft, Lawrence and Marry Ann Tucker's fund and Bridging Nations Foundation
Receipt source UNESCO Press
