Uma biblioteca digital em cada sala de estar

Examinar um velho retrato de George Washington, ler uma história verídica de um crime ou conferir manuscritos medievais em Harvard a partir do conforto de casa.

A Biblioteca Digital Pública da América, com lançamento em 18 de abril, terá coleções de bibliotecas e museus de todo os Estados Unidos a qualquer pessoa com acesso à Internet - de graça.

The new "library" (found online at dp.la) is essentially a Google-like search portal tying together digitized records from around the country, including that old image of the first president and those sordid century-old serials that sold for a cent. For starters, there will be more than 2 million documents, photos and audio files to peruse, plus several online exhibits, including one from Minnesota about American Indian culture. More materials will be added over time.


"If last century was about building a library in every town, this is building a library in everybody's home," said Jason Roy, director of digital library services at the University of Minnesota and coordinator of the state's contribution to the national project.

But don't ditch the local library just yet. The Digital Public Library of America won't have the latest bestsellers, partly because of continuing debates about copyrights and e-books.
"There's certainly interest in that," said Emily Gore, the library's director of content.
Instead, the library is aiming to give people a glimpse of lesser-known treasures, opening a digital door to collections large (the Smithsonian Institution) and small (Anoka County Historical Society) through a single search.

As Gore put it, "At your fingertips: libraries, archives and museums of the United States." ?


Título original: A digital library in every living room
Introdução: Tradução livre
Fonte: NY Daily News