Library and Information History
A timeline of libraries and information history including technologies, epic events and just cool things you didn't know before.
9 comments | 1. January 100 - 13. September 2012
A timeline of libraries and information history including technologies, epic events and just cool things you didn't know before.
9 comments | 1. January 100 - 13. September 2012
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211 events | 9 comments | 1. January 100 - 13. September 2012
Ts'ai Lun was a court eunich during the Eastern Han dynasty. His name also written as "Cai". Paper allowed China to develop more rapidly because information was easier to transmit by using paper, rather than writing on other, more costly materials.
1. January 105
One of the largest and longest surviving libraries in Ancient Rome, the Ulpian Library was founded by Emperor Trajan. It was a large building with big reading rooms and artwork. The library housed scrolls. (1)
1. January 114
This Christian library was established at Caesarea Maritima and owes much to the collecting and patronage of Pamphilus of Caesarea and his student, Eusebius who recorded his life. The library may have contained over 30,000 manuscripts but was later...
1. January 200
Emperor Diocletian establishes a library in the Eastern Roman capital of Nicomedia.
1. January 284
Founded by Emperor Constantine II, the library copied fragile materials onto more durable parchment. Themestios may have been the "person in charge" or the librarian. (1)
1. January 375
The library was destroyed sometime during the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
1. January 450
One of the last great ancient libraries, the Imperial Library of Constantinople lost over 120,000 manuscripts when it was burned. This library housed many texts of ancient Greek thought and writing.
1. January 475
Christian monk, Dionysius Exiguus, created the Anno Domini (AD) method of reckoning time in the Western world.
1. January 525
Benedict of Nursia formulates his Rules for Monastic Life which included, among other things, need for a scriptoria to contain information and knowledge. Greek and Latin learning were collected in order to increase a monk's knowledge, especially in the...
1. January 529
The Academy of Gundeshapur changed the way medicine was taught, even requiring students to pass exams and become accredited. A large library supported the studies at this location.
1. January 550
Columban brought manuscripts from Ireland to create the library.
1. January 585
Caesarea Maritima was captured by the Persians during this year and then in 638 by the Saracens. The library was most likely destroyed in the first attack in 614.
1. January 614
Most likely human or animal powered. Muslims brought the Chinese paper-making technique west.
1. January 794
This was included the "Book of Prophets" by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher. The colophon gives facts about the book itself, like where and when it was created. Asher, a Jewish scholar, also created a way to write Hebrew vowels.
1. January 896
Nizar Abu Mansur al-Aziz, the caliph of North Africa had cherries sent to him in Cairo from Lebanon by using over 600 homing pigeons. The pigeons carried the cherries in small bags attached to their legs.
1. January 976
The Tale of Genji is often considered to be one of the first novels ever written. It is also considered the first Romance novel. It was written in installments by Murasaki Shikibu.
1. January 1021
Wax seals provided security that the letter came from a certain sender and that the letter was unopened until the seal was broken.
1. January 1079
Oxford University isn't formally established, but can trace its teaching roots back this far.
1. January 1096
The University of Paris was one of the earliest European Universities.
1. January 1150
Sharing Christian knowledge was a virtue and therefore, the Council of Paris condemns Monastic libraries that do not lend or allow books to be read.
1. January 1212
Ghengis Khan set up a series of relay runners to carry messages. They had "postal stations" set up along major roads.
1. January 1220
Block printing was first used with cloth, but later on paper as well.
1. January 1300
Originally, the library was housed in the Louvre palace. It contained manuscripts inherited by Charles V.
1. January 1368
Buddhist scriptures printed in Korea using movable type metal fonts. The text, known as Jikji is a Buddhist Zen Scripture. (See http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=3055)
1-1. January 1377
Johannes Gutenberg developed a unique way to easily create new letters and switch out typesets for printing pages more quickly. He also developed improved ink types.
1. January 1450
While the library may have been extant earlier, by 1457 the collection was open and being used by the public.
1. January 1457
Pope Nicholas V established the Vatican Library formally (though manuscripts had been collected informally prior to this) and appointed Bartolomeo Platina the first librarian. In 1481, Platina records that there were 3,500 items in the library.
1. February 1475
Thomas Bodley was originally a diplomat, but left this career to reform the library at Oxford.
2. March 1545
Sir Thomas Bodley took over the Oxford Library which had been neglected for some time. He reorganised and restored it. In addition, he arranged with a publisher to house one copy of every book they publish in his library for public use...
1. January 1598
This library, which is still in its original location, is the forerunner to today's public libraries. The library was designed for use by the clergy at St. Wulfram's church, but also for public use...
1. January 1598
Gabriel Naudé is influential in library science due to his writings and his work with building a library for the Cardinal Jules Mazarin.
2. February 1600
Bodley spent the latter years of his life on his library project.
28. January 1613
Gabriel Naudé published Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (Advice on Establishing a Library). This book put forth many more modern and liberal ideas on organizing a library. (Read in French here)
1. January 1627
Originally the personal collection of bibliophile, Cardinal Mazarin, the Bibliothèque Mazarine was arranged by Gabriel Naudé who also performed liberal collection development for the library. This library was open to the public...
1. January 1642
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a philosopher, polymath, librarian and inventor. His writings on logic anticipate both Boole and Turing. He work in libraries helped establish modern library science.
1. July 1646
John Drury writes that librarians should be more than caretakers of books: they should be well educated in library concepts and other topics. He also advocated for a living wage paid to librarians.
1. January 1650
Gabriel Naudé died of broken health on a trip from Sweden back to Paris to help reform his library.
10. July 1653
A group of 12 learned men agreed to form a society to meet weekly to discuss scientific topics and experiments. (1)
28. November 1660
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is appointed Privy Counselor of Justice where among other things, he works as librarian. His work as a librarian helps set foundations of modern library science. He creates a building for the duke's collection specifically...
1. January 1677
Built by Archbishop Narcissus March. Still standing.
1. January 1701
Leibniz died out of favor with the royalty at the time and his grave went unmarked for 50 years!
14. November 1716
The British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. It was begun with a collection of objects donated by Sir Hans Sloane. The museum was enacted through an Act of Parliament.
7. June 1753
Founded by Colin MacFarquhar, Archibald Constable and Andrew Bell.
1. January 1768
This may have been one of the oldest libraries in the "New World." It was opened to the public by Viceroy Manuel Antonio Florez as the Royal Library. This area of of the Americas was known as New Granada as a part of New Spain at the time...
9. January 1777
American Cookery by Amelia Simmons was the first cookbook published in the US and written by an American.
1. January 1796
Anthony Panizzi was born in Italy. He later emigrated to England. He later became a librarian at the British Museum Library. He is famous for redeveloping the reading room at the British Museum Library and for modernising cataloging processes.
16. September 1797
The Library of Congress was first housed in the original Capitol building. President John Adams signed the act of congress that allowed for $5,000 of funds for the purchase of books for the library...
24. April 1800
John Beckley becomes the first librarian at the Library of Congress.
29. January 1802
Samuel Marsden appeals (unsuccessfully) to the public to help him raise funds for a public library.
1. January 1809
This library would eventually become the National Library of the Argentine Republic.
13. September 1810
Library founded, but building not complete for a few more years.
29. October 1810
Friedrich Koenig's steam powered printing press was given a test run in April of 1812. He received his patent for the idea in 1810. Could print thousands of copies a day.
1. April 1812
Nicephore Niepce, a French inventor, created the first photograph.
1. January 1826
A School of Arts, or Mechanic's Institute, was a place where men could go and listen to lectures and access books. The first of its kind in Australia was the Van Diemen's Land Mechanics' Institute. (see more)
1. January 1827
Petersborough, New Hampshire is the site of the oldest tax-supported public library in the US. Taxes for the library's purchase of books was based on citizen income. Source: Somervill, B. A. (2006). The history of the library...
9. April 1833
The first municipally funded library in the United States was opened in New Hampshire.
9. April 1833
Founded by Adrien Berbrugger, a French archaeologist, philologist and museum curator.
1. January 1835
This library can trace its heritage back to the 1400's. In 1839 it was open to public.
1. January 1837
Charles Cutter is best known for developing an expanding cataloging system that he wasn't able to complete before his death. He began discussions about early forms of Inter-Library Loans.
14. March 1837
Anthony Panizzi, along with assistants, writes the Ninety-one Cataloging Rules. These rules helped establish modern cataloging practices.
1. January 1841
Invented by Richard M. Hoe, the press could print millions of pages a day.
1. January 1843
The forerunner of the National Parliamentary Library in Georgia was the Tiflis Public Library.
1. January 1846
James Smithson left his fortune to the United States in 1829. He was an English scientist. After deciding how to best use his gift, which was intended to increase knowledge among Americans, President Polk signed the Smithsonian Institution Act,...
10. August 1846
Write anything Melvil Dewey is most often associated with the creation of the Dewey Decimal System. He also worked to create library schools and help admit women into the profession....
10. December 1851
Two-thirds of the Jefferson Library Collection at the Library of Congress were destroyed by fire.
24. December 1851
First US Library Convention. Eighty men in attendance. To see text from the convention (http://archive.org/details/cu31924029511874)
15-17. September 1853
George Boole publishes an Investigation of the Laws of Thought which help establish the logic behind Boolean logic and searches.
1. January 1854
While this library was mentioned in writings as early as the 17th century, it wasn't formally established until around this date.
1. January 1854
This library was meant for all of the public to use in order to promote universal education. Within 6 months of operation, over 35,000 items were borrowed (Bopp, Reference and Information services, p. 7).
20. March 1854
First telegraph communication took place between Europe and the Americas through the newly laid transatlantic cable.
15. August 1858
The Printing Act established a Government Printing Office in order to print government publications, rules and regulations.
23. June 1860
Mary Ahern was influential in supporting libraries and new thoughts in library science through both her writing and her work. She was a president of the Illinois Library Association 3 times and a member of the American Library Association. (1)
1. October 1860
Melvil Dewey created in 1876. This is mostly a hierarchical classification scheme, but also includes faceted elements.
1. January 1876
Alexander Gramm Bell is granted a patent for his telephone device.
7. March 1876
The American Library Association was begun through the work of many librarians including Melvil Dewey, Justin Winsor, Charles Cutter, Samuel Green, Fred Perkins, and Thomas Bicknell. The aim of the ALA is to help promote library services and...
6. October 1876
Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. The first recording cylinders used foil. Later cylinders used wax. (an example of an early wax recording)
18. July 1877
Women were attending Oxford University, but could not receive full membership yet. Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford started with 9 students.
1. January 1878
Anthony Panizzi was knighted later in life. He was a proponent of equal access to learning for all people, regardless of status.
8. April 1879
Work on the library was spearheaded by a teacher, Michael Bubotinov.
17. June 1879
Melvil Dewey hired staff with the title "reference librarian" when he organized the first 2 person reference department at Columbia College. (Bopp, Reference and Information Services, p. 8).
1. January 1885
Apparently begun by Mary A. Eddy as a call to have a statewide library association.
1. January 1890
New Jersey Library Association began with 39 members.
1. January 1890
Started off as the Massachusetts Library Club.
1. January 1890
Founded by a group of professionals that can trace their roots back to the Western Library Association, which only met twice.
1. January 1896
Opened on this date, then later (1949) used by the City Authority. Later given to the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovnia.
20. April 1896
Nebraska Library Commission was founded by state legislature to promote libraries in Nebraska and create new ones where there was a lack. (1)
27. March 1901
Originally named the Texas State Library Association, TLA was created by a group of 30 delegates to promote libraries and education in Texas.
2. June 1902
Cutter helped set up branch libraries and an early precursor to the Bookmobile. He also encouraged children to participate in the library.
6. September 1903
A horse-drawn bookmobile could be seen in Hagerstown, Maryland in this year. Washington County Library was the sponsor. The horses are named Black Beauty and Dandy, the driver is Joshua Thomas. Sources: Somervill, B. A. (2006)...
1. January 1905
Originally known as the Metropolitan Library. It is one of the largest libaries in the world.
24. April 1909
The New York Public Library is dedicated with President Taft presiding at the dedication. The New York Public Library's building is the largest marble structure in the United States.
23. May 1911
Heriette Avram helped create the MARC format for libraries. She was instrumental in the field of computer information services for libraries.
7. October 1919
The Association for the Promoting the Higher Education of Women and other individuals were instrumental in helping this become a reality.
1. January 1920
The American Library Association created the Newbery Medal for excellence in Children's Literature. This is the world's first literary award for children's books.
22. June 1921
Also known as Biblioteka Kombëtare e Shqipërisë (Albanian).
10. December 1922
Full name is Mirza Fatali Akhundov National Library of Azerbaijan. Named after a prominent philosopher of Azerbaijan. Library opened as a building on this day.
23. May 1923
Also known as Biblioteca Nacional d'Andorra.
8. September 1930
Melvil Dewey later in life was a creator of the American Metric Bureau. He also established the Lake Placid Club.
26. December 1931
The Federal Register Act of 1935 provided bibliographic consistency among government publications and regulations.
1. January 1935
This was known as the Jubilee Library. It was a free public library.
1. January 1935
Mary Eileen Ahern was a tireless supporter of libraries and saw public libraries as instrumental to the nation's educational attainment.
22. May 1938
The American Library Association (ALA) creates and adopts its first version of its Code of Ethics. For the current version, click here. Source: Magi, T. J. (2011). Fourteen Reasons Privacy Matters: A Multidisciplinary Review of Scholarly Literature...
1. January 1939
Nancy Pearl is a famous and influential librarian. She is the author of Book Lust, published in 2003, has a librarian action figure modelled after her and appears on public radio with book recommendations...
12-12. January 1945
Hollywood perpetuates a stereotype about librarians in It's a Wonderful Life, where Mary has become a spinster librarian.
1. January 1946
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is ratified by a group of nations in order to promote peace through education, understanding, justice through science, education and information sharing between nations.
4. November 1946
Ruth Brown, a civil rights activist and proponent of intellectual freedom was questioned before a city commission prior to her dismissal in 1950. She had been a librarian for over 30 years at Bartlesville Public Library...
25. July 1950
Alan Turing writes an article that addresses issues about artificial intelligence. Turing argues that if a computer or robot is indistinguishable from a human to an independent human interrogator then the computer can be said to think...
1. October 1950
UNIVAC was a computer that was used for the U.S. Census and is also claimed to be the first commercially avaialble computer.
14. June 1951
IBM releases the first commericially available scientific computer. It was the IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine.
7. April 1953
Not sure on the actual date of the library opening, but it carries a large compliment of books, CD's and a reading area. McMurdo station itself opened on this day.
1. December 1955
Storm Center, a movie based on the firing of Ruth Brown came out. It addresses censorship and has a librarian in a lead role.
1. January 1956
Hans Westermann helps establish public libraries in Greenland.
1. January 1956
The Desk Set portrays smart women and librarians teaching other librarians a thing or two. A sexy comedy.
1. January 1957
Young Adult Services Division (YASD) was formed to help promote and provide services to Young Adults. YASD created booklists for teens, provided professional support and networking for librarians working with Youth and sponsored conferences and journals..
1. June 1957
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik into orbit around the earth.
4. October 1957
Federal Depository Library Program established through the Depository Library Act so that government publications could made more easily accessible to the public. It is a cooperative program between the US Federal government and libraries throughout...
1. January 1962
Education Resource Information Center is created though the Institution of Education Science and United States department of Education. This database includes many full text articles.
1. January 1966
(Young Adult Library Services Association) YALSA starts the Best of the Best book list for good reads for young adults.
1. September 1966
Anglo-American Cataloging Rules were first published. These rules allow for consistent cataloging at a multitude of diverse institutions.
1. January 1967
Originally named the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC, was created to share information between libraries though a shared, computerised network. The aim was to help researchers find materials more easily
5. July 1967
Part of the American Library Association (ALA), the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), supports free and open access to information and libraries. The OIF receives reports on attempt to ban information and books at libraries throughout the country...
1. December 1967
Called Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Library, it originally was a reference-only collection.
29. September 1968
Unix operating system developed at Bell Labs by several AT&T employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas MCIlroy, Michael Lesk and Joe Ossanna. UNIX is multitasking and multiuser...
1. January 1969
The forerunner for today's Internet, The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first packet switching system. The project was funded through the Department of Defense. ARAPANET connected several institutes of higher learning...
29. October 1969
Machine Readable Cataloging project led by Henriette Avram at the Library of Congress concluded. This project would allow libraries to share information easily using computers.
1. September 1970
A team of engineers at IBM developed an 8 inch floppy drive for storing computer data. Alan Shugart led this team. Initial capacity was 100K bytes.
1. January 1971
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the ALA creates the Stonewall Book award to honor excellence in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) literature.
1. January 1971
Known officially as the Pedro Henriquez Urena National Library.
28. February 1971
Michael Hart begins Project Gutenberg and creates the idea of eBooks. The goal of the project is to make as many public domain texts accessible in open digital formats. It is often considered the first fully digital library...
1. July 1971
Alden Library at Ohio University was the first library to catalog their collection online using the OCLC network. They are the first library to catalog their items online anywhere in the world and started with 133 items. (http://www.oclc...
26. August 1971
Consisting of over 15,000 that were originally collected as long ago as 1938, the Texas Fashion Collection is housed at the University of North Texas. The collection is a hybrid one, with physical and increasing number of digital representations of the...
1. January 1972
While the library can trace its roots back farther, the current, modern version of this library started on this day, after Independence.
11. June 1972
Apple computers started as a kit computer that lacked many features, including a monitor. Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
1. April 1976
Paul Simon and Phoebe Snow perform a concert to benefit the New York Public Library.
3. May 1977
Friends of the Library U.S.A. was created to track and maintain information about the various Friends of the Library groups supporting libraries throughout the country.
1. January 1979
Banned Books Week, sponsored by the American Library Association, brings to public attention the amount of censorship that still takes place in the United States. Banned Books Week attempts to address the harmful results of censorship. Read more.
28. September 1982
Dynix, a software company, created an electronic card catalog that eventually became one of the most popular library software ever during the nineties.
1. January 1983
The GNU project aims to promote open-source and free software as an alternative to non-free software. GNU was founded by Richard Stallman who also wrote the General Public License for free software distribution.
27. September 1983
Online Computer Library Center, (OCLC) aquired the copyright to the Dewey Decimal System and along with the Library of Congress maintains and updates.
1. January 1988
In Weird Al Yankovic's movie, UHF, there is a short segment featuring "Conan the Librarian."
1. January 1989
Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Calliou sent the first hypertext protocol transfer via server the internet on this day.
25. December 1990
Linux, a free operating system based on Unix, was developed by Linus Torvolds. Many servers run Linux and some libraries use versions of Linux on their staff computers.
25. August 1991
The Young Adult Services Division (YASD) changed its name to the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The rebranding of the American Library Association (ALA) division allowed YALSA to move towards a more dynamic role in promoting teen...
1. January 1992
Memory of the World Programme strives to document, facilitate preservation and digital access to various items of historical and cultural significance throughout the world. Documents are digitally preserved and awareness of items is promoted throughout...
1. January 1992
Library was completely destroyed during the Seige of Sarajevo by Serbians. The library burned and lost many volumes including over 150,000 rare books. Several citizens attempted to save books.
25. August 1992
Originally used to track vehicles for Toyota. Scans differently than a bar code.
1. January 1994
The World Wide Web Consortium was founded by Tim Berners-Lee in order to help promote web standards and quality throughout the internet. http://www.w3.org/
1. January 1994
Library of Congress establishes the National Digital Library Program. The initial emphasis was on the American Memory historical collection. The library has worked collaboratively to digitize many objects of historical significance to make them...
13. October 1994
IMLS was created by the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996. It is the main source of federal funding for museums and libraries throughout the U.S.
1. January 1996
The Internet Archive exists to preserve "born digital" content in an archival fashion. visit site
1. January 1996
Smart, unflappable and teen rebel, Rupert Giles is one cool librarian. Seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
10. March 1997
Gary Kasperov, a world chess champion, loses to IBM's Deep Blue computer in a chess match. This is the first time a computer beats a human at chess.
11. May 1997
NuvoMedia's Rocket eBook was released this year. It had 4MB of memory, could annotate and take notes. It was only PC compatible (1).
1. January 1998
Google founded. Google is one of the most popular search engines which counts how often pages refer to one another, creating a "Pagerank". The project has its beginnings with a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
4. September 1998
Friends of African Village Libraries helped build and manage this library in Uganda.
1. January 1999
MARC 21 is the result of the blending of American and Canadian MARC record formats.
1. January 1999
USA.gov went online for the first time on this day. USA.gov, first known as FirstGov.gov, is an online directory of U.S. Government websites. It was federally mandated in 2002 as part of the E Government Act of 2002. Source: http://www.usa.gov/About...
22. September 2000
The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted in order to protect children from viewing inappropriate content on the Internet. Schools and Libraries receiving Federal Funding for Online technologies must ensure that filters are in place...
21. December 2000
Friends of African Village Libraries (FAVL) was "founded with the mission of establishing and supporting village libraries in Africa" (from brochure) It is headquartered in the US, but there are local headquarters in each country they serve.
1. January 2001
In Garth Nix's fantasy story, Lirael, the eponymous character is a librarian who finds the secrets to herself in the books.
1. January 2001
The Friends of African Village Libraries helped build and manage this library.
1. January 2001
Sometimes called "Wikipedia Day" by the many users of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia can be edited by anyone, anywhere at any time.
15. January 2001
The Amelia Bloomer Project Booklist selects books for children and young adults that portray women and girls in a feminist light. The Amelia Bloomer Project is part of the Feminist Task Force on the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the ALA...
1. September 2001
Archie McPhee produces a librarian action figure based on Nancy Pearl. See more here.
1. January 2003
The African Virtual University (AVU) was originally a project of the World Bank from 1997 to 2002. It is now an independent, intergovernmental project that aims to increase access to higher education for Africans.
1. January 2003
With talk of war looming, chief librarian Alia Muhammad Baker with the help of friends, manage to save 70% of the library's collection before the Central Library is burned down during the invasion of Iraq. Read more here. Source: Winter, J. (2005)...
15. April 2003
The music recording industry unveils plans to fight Internet music piracy by suing those who illegally downloaded pirated music.
25. June 2003
The StoryCorps project began by opening a booth for recording personal stories in Grand Central Terminal, New York. Participants interview one another and record their own personal stories. Conversations are preserved at the American Folk Life Center...
1. October 2003
ARTstor, the digital art database for Nonprofit organizations, incorporated as a non-profit organization, separate from its founding entity, the Mellon Foundation.
1. January 2004
Google Books project begins with company's desire to digitize as many books as possible to make them searchable online.
1. January 2004
Semantic search engine, hakia is founded by Dr. Riza C Berkan. see website
1. January 2004
Friends of African Village Libraries helped build and manage this library.
1. January 2004
Social networking site is started by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughs. Originally, the site was meant for Harvard students, but it gradually expanded to other schools and then to everyone over age 13.
1. February 2004
Combined 2 Canadian institutions to preserve the cultural history of Canada.
22. April 2004
This is a nonprofit, collaborative group of various types of organizations throughout the world with the goal of digitizing text and making it available through search engines and the Internet Archive Website...
1. January 2005
Chris Bradshaw and family started this non-profit organization to help open libraries and donate books to libraries in Africa.
1. January 2005
Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards (the Cybils) created by bloggers to allow anyone to nominate good books with "kid appeal" which the panellists will read and vote on for the final list...
1. January 2006
Henriette Avram is considered a librarian by achievement by the American Library Association. She revolutionized libraries by moving them from print or analog only collections to digitized information-driven organizations.
22. April 2006
Research Libraries Group (RLG) merges with OCLC to combine their programs.
3. May 2006
Friends of African Village Libraries helped build and manage this library.
1. January 2007
DRM (digital rights management) software discontinued on iTunes. Now items purchased through iTunes could be played on 3rd party items (not just Apple approved equipment).
2. April 2007
In order to help Ugandans increase literacy rates and become life-long readers.
1. July 2007
This is a digital project to provide access to digital collections in various formats that have been created in Europe. click here
1. July 2007
Apple opens the App store--revolutionising the way that people use the web.
1. July 2008
Friends of the Library USA (FOLUSA) merges with the Association of Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) to form the Association of Library Trustees. Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF)...
1. February 2009
UNESCO in partnership with the Library of Congress launch the World Digital Library (WDL)
21. April 2009
The Internet Public Library version 2 (ipl2) combines the efforts of the original Internet Public Library and the Librarians Internet Index in order to provide quality information on the internet...
1. January 2010
In 2009 Congress required the Federal Communications Comission ( FCC) to develop a plan for providing access to broadband to all Americans.
17. February 2010
Library of Congress archives tweets from Twitter starting from its beginnings in March 2006. There are over 50 million tweets every day.
14. April 2010
Resource Description and Action (RDA) cataloging rules released. These are meant to replace AARCR2 standards.
1. June 2010
A celebration of educators who help bring integrative technologies into the classroom. Country wide event.
1. February 2012
A quantum router is demonstrated. Will use photons to transmit information that can help create a quantum internet. Routing quantum information is difficult because when an event is read, it is also destroyed...
3. August 2012
During the Chicago Public Library's Once in a Blue Moon amnesty week, a rare edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde was turned in 78 years overdue. Patrons returned more than 100,000 items during this amnesty period.
13. September 2012