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Existing websites often had poorly developed search and display functions. They noted that little cultural content was being digitized in many countries, and that developing countries in particular lacked the capacity to digitize and display their cultural treasures. Experts from all parts of the world identified a number of challenges that the project would need to overcome to be successful. In December 2006, UNESCO and the Library of Congress convened an Experts Meeting at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to discuss the project. Abdul Waheed Khan, to work with the Library of Congress to develop the project. UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura designated UNESCO’s Directorate for Communication and Information, then led by Dr. UNESCO welcomed the idea as a contribution toward fulfilling its strategic objectives, which include promoting knowledge societies, building capacity in developing countries, and promoting cultural diversity on the web.

The basic idea was to create an Internet-based, easily-accessible collection of the world’s cultural riches that would tell the stories and highlight the achievements of all countries and cultures, thereby promoting cross-cultural awareness and understanding. National Commission for UNESCO in June 2005. Billington proposed the establishment of the WDL in a speech to the U.S. The materials collected by the WDL include cultural treasures and significant historical documents including books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, journals, prints, photographs, sound recordings, and films. They chose content for its cultural and historical importance, with due regard to recognition of the achievements of all countries and cultures over a wide range of time periods. WDL partner institutions selected content in accordance with guidelines set by the WDL Content Selection Committee. The WDL sought to preserve and share some of the world’s most important cultural objects, increasing access to cultural treasures and significant historical documents to enable discovery, scholarship, and use.

Library of Congress, with the support of UNESCO, and contributions from libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations around the world. Launched in 2009, the World Digital Library was a project of the U.S. Additionally, all World Digital Library metadata in each of the seven languages is available as a downloadable dataset. Books, manuscripts, maps, and other primary materials in the WDL collection are presented in their original languages more than 100 languages are represented, including many lesser known and endangered languages. All item records include narrative descriptions submitted by the contributing partners and enhanced by WDL researchers to contextualize the item and its cultural and historical importance. The original World Digital Library site (preserved in LC’s Web Archives here) and all descriptive metadata were translated from English and made available in six additional languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese. This collection contains cultural heritage materials gathered during the World Digital Library (WDL) project, including thousands of items contributed by partner organizations worldwide as well as content from Library of Congress collections.