International cooperation: The gift of a collection of digitized treasures from the holdings of the Library of Congress to Afghan cultural institutions

In a ceremony at the U.S. Department of State with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – joined by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington and Carnegie Corporation of New York President Vartan Gregorian -- announced the gift of a collection of digitized treasures from the holdings of the Library of Congress relating to the culture and history of Afghanistan to libraries and universities in Afghanistan. The gift was made possible by a $2 million grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in support of the World Digital Library, a cooperative international project led by the Library of Congress.

The Library of Congress will add Afghan treasures to the WDL as well as provide copies of these treasures to Afghan institutions. These include the National Library of Afghanistan, the American University of Afghanistan, Badakhsan University, Balkh University, Bamiyan University, Herat University, Kabul University, Kandahar University, and Nangarhar University.

The collection presented includes manuscripts, rare books, maps, and photographs. It is the first part of what will be many thousands of items from and about Afghanistan and neighboring countries with which it has interacted over the centuries.

The project is an example of the "virtual repatriation" that is made possible by digital technologies and that is one of the key objectives of the WDL. "Making cultural treasures of global value available to all the people of the world is one of the greatest gifts the digital age has given us," Billington said. "The World Digital Library has made it possible for people of all cultures to look at the gems of each other’s learning and art in any of seven languages, and this vehicle of understanding is available 24 hours a day."