From Wired News:
The Library of Congress is kicking off a campaign Tuesday to work with other nation’s libraries to build a World Digital Library, starting with a $3 million donation from Google.
Librarian of Congress James Billington said he is looking to attract further private funding to develop bilingual projects, featuring millions of unique objects, with libraries in China, India, the Muslim world and other nations.
This builds on major existing digital documentary projects by the Library of Congress — one preserving an online record of Americana and another documenting ties between the United States and Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain.
“The World Digital Library is an attempt to go beyond Europe and the Americas … into cultures where the majority of the world is,” Billington said.
As an example, Billington said the Library of Congress is in discussions with the national library of Egypt to include a collection of great Islamic scientific works from the 10th through the 16th century in the World Digital Library.
More here.