Recently, the EU-funded a project to digitise millions of books, artworks, manuscripts, maps, objects and films from the most important libraries, museums and archives. The site Europeana provides interactive content, audio and video, ranging from original texts, pictures to footages and documentaries. Europeana will feature pieces such as the Magna Carta, The Girl with a Pearl Ring, manuscripts and letters of writers, composers and thinkers, audio pieces from libraries and museums, maritime maps charting Europe’s colonial past etc. etc. Around 1000 European and national libraries, museums and institutions contribute. Currently there are about two million items available, and the site is expected to reach 10 million items in 2010. The digital library ressembles the famous Alexandria’s library, which was destroyed in the aftermath of the Roman civil war between Antonius and Ocatavianus.The objects are free to download from the web-site www.europeana.eu
The logo of the web-site Europeana.