Digital Public Library of America Opens Access to Resources

A new platform will aggregate digital resources from libraries and museums across the United States. The Digital Public Library of America will launch a new website on Thursday, April 18, and officially become an independent nonprofit with the goal of pulling together vast resources for the public.

The organization had planned a launch event at the Boston Public Library, but that event will no longer take place following the explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15. This national library platform will not host any resources, but instead provide open access to metadata about them. Once users find a resource description they like, a link will lead them to the home library's website for the full version. About 40 state digital libraries and a few regional ones already aggregate resources from local historical societies, museums and libraries, though not many people know about them. Seven of these organizations have agreed to participate in an initial pilot designed to create a network of content aggregators nationwide.

The seven state libraries include:

• Mountain West Digital Library (Utah, Nevada and Arizona);
• Digital Commonwealth (Massachusetts);
• Digital Library of Georgia;
• Kentucky Digital Library;
• Minnesota Digital Library;
• South Carolina Digital Library; and
• Oregon Digital Library.