The Free World Of Online Library

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The published works of humankind is innumerable and even during this digital age is rarely accessible for many people. However the scenario is changing into a new world as the online digital library named Universal Digital Library, comprising 1.5 million books and are continuing to scan thousands more daily, becomes a reality.

Workers at scanning centres in India and China have carried much of the recent work in the Million Book Project. Most of the books scanned are in the Chinese language. The U.S., China and India each have contributed million to the project, undertaken by Prof. Raj Reddy and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University.

The books in the online library are borrowed from institutions and individuals worldwide. However institutions in Europe declined to participate in this huge venture. The library so far has books published in 20 languages, including 970,000 in Chinese, 360,000 in English, 50,000 in Telugu and 40,000 in Arabic.

The library avails many of the copyrighted books with the permission of copyright holders. Excerpts of copyright-protected works are available, though the organisers expect complete texts to become available. Online search engine operator Google and software giant Microsoft have begun similar endeavors on the footstep of Universal Digital Library.