The BA Participates in Launching the World’s Largest Digital Library
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Alexandria—Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria; Dr. Magdi Nagi, Head of the BA Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector; and Dr. Noha Adly, Deputy Head of ICT Sector and Director of the International School of Information Science (ISIS), participated in the Ceremony held by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in its headquarters in Paris, France, on 21 April 2009, on the occasion of launching the World’s largest Digital Library (WDL).
Serageldin said that the project was developed with the technical assistance of the BA. The Library of Congress- whose Director, James H. Billington, first proposed the idea in 2005- had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BA in 2007 to cooperate in developing the WDL, in addition to providing the display and search tools in Arabic, in recognition of the BA’s expertise in the field. Serageldin also asserted that the BA made another major contribution to the WDL by adding Description de l’Egypte, a book that dates back to the French Campaign in Egypt in 1798, and that was fully digitalized by the BA in 2007.
Dr. Magdi Nagi pointed out that launching the WDL is part of the world’s new concept of libraries and the trend of free knowledge to all. He added that the WDL website features the world’s best cultural contributions. With 32 partner organizations from all over the world, the project aims at narrowing the cultural gap and promoting understanding between different cultures and peoples. The WDL functions in seven languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish – and includes content in more than forty languages.