Can we create a National Digital Library?

On October 1, 2010, a talk was given at the beginning of a conference at Harvard University in which the possibility of creating a National Digital Library (NDL) was discussed.

 
 

The NDL would be the digital equivalent to the Library of Congress, but instead of being confined to Capitol Hill, it would exist everywhere, bringing millions of books and other digitized material within clicking distance of public libraries, high schools, junior colleges, universities, retirement communities, and any person with access to the Internet.

 
 

While this seems like a simple question, it raises issues such as technological difficulties, legal obstacles, financial costs, and political problems. Read the full article by Robert Darnton at The New York Review of Books website.