Early this morning I found an article in the Washington Post about a new effort by the United Nations to create the World Digital Library. I Tweeted about it, but it seems the Washington Post changed the link and my original Tweet link doesn't work. I was a little skeptical at first because of the United Nations connection, then I discovered it was really run by various world libraries headed up by the Library of Congress. I have nothing against the UN in principle - I just think it's a generally ineffective organization.
The Washington Post article discusses the history of the effort, who's involved, etc., I just want to show you some cool things I found:
A history of Genghis Khan written in 1722.
Apocalypse of Saint John printed in Germany in 1470 (in Latin)
Emigrant's Map and Guide for Routes to North America created in 1853 (in German)
Video of a New York Police Parade created in 1899.
This library is full of maps, photos, manuscripts and has potential as a very good historical resource. The best part is it's free.




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