University of Virginia Library To Join Digital Public Library of America

With all the news today, it is really hard to distinguish what is really going on in the world, even the smaller world of genealogy. But here is a major development in access to information going on without much fanfare and almost no notice by the major news outlets. Have you heard about the Digital Public Library of America and the fact that it is going online on 18 April 2013? Did you even know that you could check out books online from your local public library?

Here is a quote from the most recent press release:

Digital items from the University of Virginia will be available at the first nationwide online public library, an ambitious new venture that provides a single point of access to digital materials from some of the best libraries in the country. 

The Digital Public Library of America, or DPLA, officially launches April 18 and is a one-stop shop for digital collections from numerous public and university libraries, as well as federal organizations such as the National Archives and the Smithsonian 

Initially, the U.Va. Library will contribute the Holsinger Studio Collection, a photographic record of life in Charlottesville and Albemarle County from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that consists of more than 10,400 images. 

For U.Va., sharing resources with the new digital library is an opportunity to spread awareness of U.Va.’s digital collections and expand the potential audience of scholars, students and other users who could benefit from them, said Bradley Daigle, U.Va.’s director of digital curation services 

“We’re a state public institution and we have a mandate to share our content,” Daigle said. “The library decided that this would be a good opportunity for us to share content more broadly.”

Watch for additional announcements in the next few weeks and as the DPLA goes online.