Digitizing culture

Matthew Mizzi refers to French efforts to push Europe into “seizing its place in the future geography of knowledge” and to establish the European Digital Library with a view to preserving European knowledge online. He questions the lukewarm response by the Maltese National Library and states that "this is a weak sign of the George Cross Island’s commitment towards the preservation of European cultural heritage including Malta’s own heritage". From Mizzi's Malta Daily blog:

..Given its size, Malta is adorned with a wonderful number of books and manuscripts describing the archipelago, its history and its people. If they are not put online they are not made accessible to everyone and are thus risking intellectual extinction. There needs to be a co-ordinated and committed effort from the Maltese public and private sectors alike to preserve and promote our heritage – and also to make it accessible to scholars worldwide. We cannot afford any lag in the process of development as Google announces it will be improving its Google Print service.

We have already come a long way through in the provision of an efficient and effective e-Government service but we really need to keep up the momentum and move on to promote our knowledge heritage worldwide. Will De Soldanis’ description of Gozo, or Megizer’s notes on Malta, or even Dun Karm’s romantic poetry ever be made available online ready for anyone to read and appreciate? I really do hope so.

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