NEWS RELEASE 
 
For Immediate Release: 06/01/2005
Contact: David Seaman [log in to unmask] 

BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA JOINS DIGITAL LIBRARY FEDERATION 

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Board of Trustees of the Digital Library Federation
(DLF) today announced that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has joined the
DLF as its first Strategic Partner from outside the United States or
Europe.  "I am delighted that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has accepted
our invitation to join," said David Seaman, executive director of the
DLF. "We are a fast-moving consortium of very active academic digital
libraries and the addition of this remarkable Egyptian library will
enrich our collaborative work and inform our world view of digital
library endeavors.  The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is already working
closely with DLF member institutions: it is a contributing member of the
Million Books Library led by Carnegie Mellon, and Yale has just
announced new funding for collaboration with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
to digitize early 20th century journals."

Michael Keller, University Librarian at Stanford University and
President of the DLF's Board of Trustees, adds, "The Bibliotheca
Alexandrina's digital library initiatives extend the leading edge of
digital librarianship by the creation of new professionals, by
experimentation, by portal development, and by the addition of content,
which includes the digitization of 15,000 Arabic books annually, the
development of the Digital Library of the History of Egypt, and the
scanning of numerous image collections."

"The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is proud to be a member of the DLF" says
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the institution.  "My colleagues and
I look forward to working with the DLF in laying out the foundations for
the digital library revolution of the new century and to find ways in
which this will benefit all of humanity."

# # # 

The Digital Library Federation, founded in 1995, is a partnership
organization of academic libraries and related organizations that are
pioneering the use of electronic-information technologies to extend
their collections and services. Through its strategic partners, the DLF
provides leadership for libraries by identifying standards and "best
practices" for digital collections and network access; coordinating
research and development in the libraries' use of technology; and
incubating projects and services that libraries need but cannot develop
individually.  http://www.diglib.org/  

Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, was
inaugurated in 2002 to recapture the spirit of the ancient Library of
Alexandria, a center of world learning from 300 BC to 400 AD.  The new
Library and its affiliated research centers are devoted to using the
newest technology to preserve the past and to promote access to the
products of the human intellect.  It is committed to work with partners
all over the world, and is a center for inter-cultural dialogue,
learning and understanding.  http://www.bibalex.org/  


David Seaman
Executive Director,
Digital Library Federation
1755 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
tel: 202-939-4762; fax: 202-939-4765
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
web: http://www.diglib.org/