Transcript Slide 1

World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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World Digital Library Arab Peninsula Regional
Group Meeting
Doha, Qatar, December 12-14, 2010
An Introduction to the WDL
John Van Oudenaren
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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A website, http://www.wdl.org, that provides free access
to primary sources that document the histories and
cultural achievements of all countries.
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Rare books
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Journals
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Manuscripts
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Maps
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Prints and photographs
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Films
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Sound recordings
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Timeline
June 2005: Dr. Billington proposes creation of a World Digital Library
December 2005: Initial funding secured
December 2006: Agreements with UNESCO; WDL Experts Meeting
October 2007: Prototype unveiled at UNESCO General Conference
April 2009: www.wdl.org launched
March 2010: WDL Charter adopted
June 2010: Partner meeting under the WDL charter
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World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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In addition to building a website, the WDL is also an
effort to share knowledge and build capacity around the
world by:
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Assisting in the establishment of digital conversion centers
(Egypt, Iraq, Uganda)
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Encouraging digitization where little or no digital content is
being produced
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Facilitating cooperation between experienced institutions
and those just getting started
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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Digital conversion centers
Delivering scanning equipment to the National Library
of Uganda
Training at the Iraqi National Library and Archives
Newly trained staff at the National Library and Archives of
Egypt
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
116 partners from 63 countries
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National libraries
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University libraries
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Public libraries
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Archives
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Museums
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World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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Governance
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Charter
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Executive Council
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Project Committees
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Content Selection
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Technical Architecture
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Translation and Language
View project site for more information (http://project.wdl.org/).
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Statistics
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World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Visitors
12.7 million
Engaged users
Pages viewed
87 million
April, 21 2009 – October 31, 2010
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Current set of languages
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Arabic
Chinese
English
French
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
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World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Languages of pages viewed
French: 3.7%
Chinese: 3.9%
Russian: 5.2%
Arabic: 1.4%
Portuguese: 10.9%
Spanish: 53.9%
English: 20.8%
April, 21 2009 – October 31, 2010
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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Top countries by visitor
April 21, 2009 – October 31, 2010
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World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Top external search engines referring traffic
April 21, 2009 – October 31, 2010
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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Top searches on the WDL site
April 21, 2009 – October 31, 2010
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
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Partners in the Arab World
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Bibliotheca Alexandrina
National Library and Archives of Egypt
Qatar Foundation
Education Ministry, Kingdom of Bahrain
Iraqi National Library and Archives
Tetouan-Asmir Association, Morocco
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Hill Museum and Manuscript Library partners in Syria
and Lebanon
World Digital Library www.wdl.org
Content Selection
General selection guidelines
Specialized working groups
Meso-American Codices
Chinese Language Content
Arabic Scientific Manuscripts
South Asian Content
Arabian Peninsula
Key role of partner institutions – curators and experts
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