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out as a pilot program that ran from 1990 through 1994. This program experimented with digitizing some of the Library of Congress best collections of historical documents, film and sound recordings, artwork and photographs, in what they called the "nation's memory."

The Library of Congress identified audiences for digital collections, established technical procedures, dealt with intellectual-property issues, explored options for distribution of these collections on CD-ROM, and began a "digitalization" effort.

Forty-four schools and libraries across the country received CD-ROMs with these materials as part of that pilot program. As the American Memory pilot ended, the Library surveyed the 44 selected schools and libraries that had participated. The response was enthusiastic, especially from teachers and students in middle and high schools who wanted more digitized resources. However, distributing these materials in CD-ROM format was both inefficient and expensive.

An opportunity presented itself in 1994, as the Internet and the World Wide Web were beginning to transform how we could store, communicate, and present knowledge.

The Library of Congress took advantage of the opportunity and, Oct. 13, 1994, announced the establishment of the National Digital Library Program. On that day, the Library of Congress launched the American Memory historical collections.

This program was an effort to digitize some of the most important historical treasures in the Library and other major research archives and make them available on the Internet to Congress, scholars, educators, students, and to all of us who were becoming a part of the online Internet community.

Beginning in 1996, the Library of Congress sponsored a three-year competition to enable public researchers, academic libraries, museums, historical societies, and archival institutions to digitize American history collections and make them available on the Library's American Memory site.

The competition produced 23 digital collections that complement American Memory, which has today grown to more than 100 collections.

The National Digital Library exceeded its goal of making 5 million items available online in 2000.

The Library of Congress' American Memory continues to add to its collections and will keep on expanding their online historical content.

The mission statement explains it well: "to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."

To view some of the fascinating and rich historical images and film about my home state, go to http://memory.loc.gov and type "Minnesota" in the search engine.

Learn more about this author, Mark Ollig.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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