A National Public Library, Now Available Online
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched its Web site last week, more than two years after the first planning meeting in which, according to a statement on the site, participants agreed to create “an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that would draw on the nation’s living heritage…in order to educate, inform, and empower everyone in current and future generations.” Visitors can access more than two million items from a wide range of institutions, including Harvard University and public libraries in Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston. Developers can also add to the archive by using a freely available API.
What’s the Big Idea?