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Unesco Puts World's Major Works Online
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People attend the launch of the World Digital Library in Paris, Tuesday April 21, 2009. National libraries and UNESCO have put some of humanity's earliest written works, from Chinese oracle bones to Latin America's first novel, online in the World Digital Library. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
PARIS — One of the world’s oldest novels has just become one of the newest. “The Tale of Genji,” an 11th-century Japanese romp that is sometimes called the first true novel, is among about 1,250 books, maps, artworks and other cultural items that went on display online Tuesday in an international library supported by Unesco and the U.S. Library of Congress.
The project, called the World Digital Library, aims to “promote international and intercultural understanding,” said James H. Billington, the U.S. librarian of Congress, speaking as the Web site (www.wdl.org) was introduced at Unesco headquarters in Paris.
“This is a truly international undertaking,” said Dr. Billington, who has been working on the project since proposing it to Unesco four years ago.
The library, which draws material from more than 30 national libraries and other institutions from around the world, joins a growing number of programs that have set out to digitally archive cultural material.
The European Commission, for example, is supporting a project called Europeana, which gathers material from European libraries, museums, audiovisual archives and other institutions. Some national libraries have their own digital projects, while participating in international initiatives. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, for instance, is participating in Europeana and the World Digital Library, while operating its own digital archive, Gallica.
New York, NY |
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