Dear Wikimedians --

A project to build a national public digital library in the US, the "Digital Public Library of America", is asking for statements of interest from people or groups who have ideas for what this might look like -- and mean to create a prototype or detailed proposal over the course of this summer.

Actual proposals, of whatever form, are due in September, but a statement of interest is due by June 15. If you are interested in the subject, or currently working on a project you could see being part of such a public resource, you can submit a statement online:

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/dpla/forms/statement-of-interest/

See below for background on the DPLA. While this group is focused on a national project for a single country (formed by a consortium of US libraries, foundations, and academics) , they are conscious of the need to do something similar worldwide, and committed to making this process and ersulting tools as open and reusable as possible.

SJ

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Maura Marx maura@knowledgecommons.org Date: Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 2:51 PM Subject: Fwd: [berkmanfriends] DPLA Beta Sprint: Calling all Submitters! To: Samuel Klein meta.sj@gmail.com

statements of interest for the DPLA Beta Sprint are due in a week - can you help push this message out to your network? much appreciated! Looking forward to seeing you the the workshop in DC

Maura

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Palfrey jpalfrey@law.harvard.edu Date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 10:20 AM Subject: [berkmanfriends] DPLA Beta Sprint: Calling all Submitters! To: "berkmanfriends@eon.law.harvard.edu" berkmanfriends@eon.law.harvard.edu

At the Digital Public Library of America, we've just announced a "Beta Sprint" to gather creative ideas, models, and other innovations that could play a role in the building of a DPLA.  We'd love to see submissions from members of this list, as we know many of you have excellent thoughts on how this effort might take shape.  Please find the full announcement below, and let me, Rebekah Heacock, and/or Maura Marx know if you have any questions or want to team up with one of the groups that appear already to be forming to make a submission. Best, John -- The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Steering Committee is delighted to announce today a Beta Sprint that aims to surface innovations that could play a part in the building of a digital public library.

The Beta Sprint seeks, ideas, models, prototypes, technical tools, user interfaces, etc. – put forth as a written statement, a visual display, code, or a combination of forms – that demonstrate how the DPLA might index and provide access to a wide range of broadly distributed content. The Beta Sprint also encourages development of submissions that suggest alternative designs or that focus on particular parts of the system, rather than on the DPLA as a whole.

The DPLA Steering Committee is leading the first concrete steps toward the realization of a large-scale digital public library that will make the cultural and scientific record available to all. The DPLA planning initiative grew out of an October 2010 meeting at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, which brought together over 40 representatives from foundations, research institutions, cultural organizations, government, and libraries to discuss best approaches to building a national digital library. Subsequent workshops in March and May have addressed the content, scope, and technical aspects of a DPLA.

“As the DPLA planning initiative moves forward, we are optimistic that the DPLA community and public can help us think about what a DPLA might look like, in practical – and perhaps unexpected – ways, as platform, architecture, interface, and beyond,” said John Palfrey, chair of the DPLA Steering Committee. “We hope geeks and librarians, especially, will join forces to develop beta submissions in support of this initiative.”

“The Beta Sprint is where the dream of a seamless and comprehensive digital library for every person begins to grapple, technically and creatively, with what has already been accomplished and what still need to be developed,” said Doron Weber, Vice President of Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and a Steering Committee member. “The DPLA represents the broadest coalition of stakeholders ever assembled who are dedicated to free and universal access to knowledge for all, and the Beta Sprint will help us kick off an 18-month program to construct, brick by digital brick, this beautiful new edifice.”

For inspiration, Beta Sprint participants might consider the general approach taken by initiatives whose leaders are on the DPLA Steering Committee, such as the Internet Archive, Public.Resource.Org, the Hathi Trust, American Memory, and others, as well as the Europeana project and the national digital libraries in the Netherlands, Norway, and South Korea.

Submission instructions and more information are available at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/dpla, where you can also watch a short video about the Beta Sprint. Statements of interest must be received by June 15, 2011. Final submissions will be due by September 1, 2011.

A review panel appointed by the Steering Committee and composed of experts in the fields of library science, information management, and computer science will review Beta Sprint submissions in early September. Creators of the most promising betas will be invited to present their ideas to interested stakeholders and community members during a public meeting in Washington, DC.

# # #

About the Digital Public Library of America The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) planning initiative is an impact-oriented research effort that unites leaders from all types of libraries, museums, and archives with educators, industry, and government to define the vision for a digital library in service of the American public. The DPLA Secretariat is located at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; the Steering Committee comprises library and foundation leaders across the nation. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/research/dpla.

About the Berkman Center for Internet & Society The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates working on projects that span the broad range of intersections between cyberspace, technology, and society. More information can be found athttp://cyber.law.harvard.edu/.

Digital Public Library of America Steering Committee Paul Courant, Harold T. Shapiro Professor of Public Policy and Dean of Libraries at the University of Michigan Robert Darnton, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the Harvard University Library Carla Hayden, Chief Executive Officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore, Maryland) Charles Henry, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Luis Herrera, City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco Susan Hildreth, Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services Brewster Kahle, Founder of the Internet Archive Michael A. Keller, Ida M. Green University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources at Stanford University Carl Malamud, President, Public.Resource.Org Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress Maura Marx, Berkman Center Fellow and Executive Director, Open Knowledge Commons Jerome McGann, John Stewart Bryan University Professor at the University of Virginia John Palfrey, Faculty Co-Director at the Berkman Center; Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law and Vice Dean of Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School (chair) Peggy Rudd, Executive Director/State Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Amy E. Ryan, President of the Boston Public Library Donald Waters, Program Officer for Scholarly Communications and Information Technology at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Doron Weber, Vice President, Programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Contact: Rebekah Heacock Project Coordinator Berkman Center for Internet & Society rheacock@cyber.law.harvard.edu

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Maura Marx Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet and Society Executive Director, Open Knowledge Commons ********************************************************** direct: 617-384-9131 mobile: 617-835-3510 email: maura@knowledgecommons.org