The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization launched a World Digital Library on Tuesday, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The project, initiated four years ago, provides access to documents from 27 libraries in 19 countries, The Chronicle reported. The library features historical manuscripts and secondary sources translated into seven languages, as well as an ancient Japanese manuscript that scholars believe is the first novel ever written. The project is lead by United States Librarian of Congress James Billington, who said all countries are welcome to contribute to the library. The project's stated purpose is to use digital technology to collect all of the world's most important artifacts in one Internet location, The Chronicle reported.
After months of denying the public access to "Paper of Record," an online archive of newspapers, Google has agreed to allow the previous owner of the site to resume service, Inside Higher Ed reported. The archive became inaccessible to historians, who needed to use its documents for their research, in 2008 after Google began actively managing the site. While some scholars fear that allowing large companies to assume control of digital archives could restrict access, others consider large corporations like Google to be more dependable than private owners, according to Inside Higher Ed. In addition to controlling site accessibility, Google has the authority to set an access price, which could exclude some from viewing the collection, Ted Beatty, director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and a history professor at the University of Notre Dame, told Inside Higher Ed.
