The BA Participates in the World Digital Library Exhibition
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Alexandria—
The 34th session of the General Conference of UNESCO is held 15-19 October 2007, in Paris, France, to unveil a prototype of the World Digital Library (WDL).
The idea of WDL was presented at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in December 2006. Partners in the project include UNESCO, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and major libraries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North and South America.
Six major libraries, from Brazil, Egypt, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, cooperated to create this prototype. It is in seven languages and contains books, charts, manuscripts, reproductions and photographs of films, as well as sound recordings of various cultures.
The BA operates a mirror site from Egypt, which will be featured throughout the UNESCO event. During the event, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, will launch L’Art Arabe of Prisses d’Avennes’ digitization project, a preliminary contribution of BA to the WDL along with Description de l’Egypte and the Awad Collection.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington and, Ismail Serageldin have previously signed an agreement on the 10th of April 2007 at the Library of Congress, outlining four areas in which the two institutions will cooperate in building a World Digital Library. Along with other libraries and cultural institutions from around the world, both institutions will contribute content to the World Digital Library. In addition, the two institutions agreed to work together on the design and implementation of the architecture of the World Digital Library.
The objectives of the WDL are to promote international and inter-cultural understanding and awareness, expand the volume and increase the variety of content on the Internet, provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences, and build capacity in partner institutions in ways that will narrow the digital divides within and between countries.