News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren B. Kallens" <>]

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS JOINS INTERNET2

Library to Utilize High-Performance Network for Digital Preservation and
Educational Outreach

ANN ARBOR, MI - May 17, 2005 - Internet2, the foremost U.S. advanced
networking consortium led by the research and higher education community,
today announced that the Library of Congress has become a member of
Internet2 and will connect to its high-performance Abilene Network. The
Library plans to collaborate with the Internet2 community and leverage its
advanced network infrastructure to facilitate wide-scale digital
preservation projects, to enhance the development of an Internet-based
database of U.S. newspapers, and to assist with its educational outreach
programs.  

"The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to
Congress and the American people, and to sustain and preserve a universal
collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations," said Laura
E. Campbell, associate librarian for Strategic Initiatives at the Library of
Congress. Campbell is leading the Library's National Digital Information
Infrastructure and Preservation Program. This national initiative is
dedicated to working with other institutions to collect and preserve the
digital heritage of the nation.  "The Internet2 community has deployed
advanced technical capabilities that will enable enhanced digital
preservation and distribution of our country's most precious information,"
she added. 

The Library of Congress will begin using Internet2's networks for two
significant preservation programs that require the use of advanced,
high-bandwidth networking. The first project, called the National Digital
Newspaper Program, seeks to create a national, digital resource of
historically significant newspapers from all the states and U.S. territories
published between 1836 and 1922. This searchable database will be
permanently maintained at the Library of Congress and be accessible via the
web. With the help of Internet2's high-performance Abilene network,
researchers collecting and creating these digitized materials can more
efficiently send bandwidth-intensive files in seconds rather than minutes or
hours.  

The Library also plans to work with Internet2 to facilitate its National
Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
(www.digitalpreservation.gov). The Library, in partnership with many
institutions, including several universities from the Internet2 community,
is undertaking a broad-scale digital preservation program to preserve the
increasing amounts of so called "born digital" materials for which no hard
copies exist.  The Library, with its partners, is working to collect
historically significant digital content before it is altered or lost.  

"Internet2 provides the Library of Congress unique access to the research
and education community, which shares its interest in providing students and
researchers at all levels with the most comprehensive learning and
information resources available," said Doug Van Houweling, president and CEO
of Internet2. "We are pleased to work with the Library to help advance the
Library's important work in preserving and protecting our nation's most
valuable information assets." 

The Library will also use Internet2's network to enhance its educational
outreach program. With 34 state education networks connected to its
high-performance network, over 27,000 K-20 institutions now have access to
Internet2's network. With this infrastructure, schools across the country
can better take advantage of the Library's online educational programs,
which provide lesson plans - among other materials - for teachers in the
K-12 community via the Learning Page Web site (www.loc.gov/teachers).

Not only will the Library take advantage of its connectivity to Internet2's
network for improved information exchange and content delivery, but it also
plans to work closely with the Internet2 community to investigate and
develop new information architectures for enhanced data searching and
delivery, including METS schemas for the emerging need of XML standards as
well as the use of IPv6.  

 "We look forward," said Campbell, "to working closely with the Internet2
community to examine technologies that will assist in providing our users an
even richer multimedia experience."

About Internet2
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government,
Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet.  Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia,
industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.
For more information, visit: www.internet2.edu.

About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world.  Through its
National Digital Library (NDL) Program, it is also one of the leading
providers of noncommercial intellectual content on the Internet
(www.loc.gov). The NDL Program's flagship American Memory project, in
collaboration with institutions nationwide, makes freely available more than
10 million American historical items.


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Library of Congress     
Guy Lamolinara  
202.707.9217    

       

Internet2
Lauren Kallens
202.331.5345