World Digital Library facts for kids
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The WDL homepage on launch day (April 21, 2009)
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Type of site
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International education |
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| Available in | Multilingual |
| Owner | United States |
| Created by | Library of Congress |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | April 21, 2009 |
| Current status | Online |
The World Digital Library (WDL) is an amazing online library for everyone! It's like a giant digital collection of important items from all over the world. This special library is run by UNESCO (a part of the United Nations) and the Library of Congress in the United States.
The WDL wants to help people from different countries understand each other better. It also aims to put more cool cultural stuff online, especially things not in English or from Western countries. The library offers free access to important original materials like old books, maps, music, films, and photos. These items come from many cultures and are available in different languages. The WDL started with 1,236 items. By early 2018, it had grown to over 18,000 items from almost 200 countries, with some items dating back 8,000 years!
Contents
How the World Digital Library Started
The Idea Begins
After not being involved for almost 20 years, the United States rejoined UNESCO in 2003. James H. Billington, who was the head of the Library of Congress, gave a speech in 2005. He shared his idea for a "Digital World Library." He imagined that all the amazing collections kept in libraries and museums could be shared with everyone online for free.
Getting Help from Google
In 2005, Google Inc. became the first big helper for this project. They gave $3 million to help start the World Digital Library. This was a great example of a partnership between a public organization (like the Library of Congress) and a private company (like Google).
Planning the Project
In 2006, John Van Oudenaren from the Library of Congress explained how to make Billington's idea happen. They believed the WDL should work with many partners to plan everything. This included how the technology would work, what items to include, how to manage the library, and how to get money.
In December 2006, 45 directors and experts from national libraries and cultural groups met in Paris. They discussed how to build the World Digital Library. They formed special groups to work on different parts of the project.
These groups met in 2007. They included experts in computer science, library work, web design, and fundraising. Their ideas were shared at a big UNESCO meeting in October 2007.
More Partners Join In
In September 2008, the Organization of American States (OAS) also decided to join the project. Their leader, José Miguel Insulza, signed an agreement with James Billington.
Launch Day!
The World Digital Library officially opened on April 21, 2009. The launch ceremony took place at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
Cool Things You Can Find
The World Digital Library has many amazing and unique items. Here are just a few examples:
- The Tale of Genji: An 11th-century Japanese story, thought by some to be the very first novel.
- Ancient Arabic texts: These were important for developing algebra.
- Chinese oracle bone script: Very old writings found on animal bones.
- Ming dynasty copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia: One of the biggest collections of Chinese writings ever made.
- An 8,000-year-old African painting of antelopes.
- The Waldseemüller map: The first map to use the name "America."
- An audio recording of a 101-year-old former American slave.
- The first Aztec mention of the child Jesus.
- World War I recruitment posters.
- An 1899 Canadian government handbook for people moving from Scandinavia.
- Doctrina Christiana, en lengua española y tagala: The first Spanish and Tagalog book ever printed.
- Islamic manuscripts from Mali.
- Rare photographs from Imperial China, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire.
- The first recording of "La Marseillaise," France's national anthem.
- The world's first film from the Lumiere brothers.
- The Constitution of India (a printed copy).
- Calligraphy by Prem Behari Narain Raizada.
- The Huexotzinco Codex.
- The Nuremberg Chronicle.
WDL Partners
Many organizations around the world have partnered with the World Digital Library project:
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See also
- Chinese Text Project
- Digital Public Library of America
- Europeana
- Global Memory Net
- Internet Archive
- National Digital Library Program (NDLP)
- Project Gutenberg
- World Digital Library-Wikimedia partnership
