Europeana

The prototype site for Europeana, the European digital library funded by the EC, is set to launch today, November 20, 2008.

The initial collection of 2 million items comes from museums, libraries, archives, and audio-visual collections, and includes paintings, maps, videos and newspapers. The interface is in French, English, and German, with more languages planned. Highlights include the Magna Carta from Britain, the Vermeer painting “Girl With a Pearl Earring” from the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, a copy of Dante’s “Divine Comedy'" and newsreel footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Content is free of copyright restrictions.

New York Times and EU Business articles provide more details. The goal is to add 10 million items into the digital library by 2010, at a price of 350 million to 400 million euros.