“It was suggested that a Scannebago should be driving around the United States scanning public library works to make them available online. (I envision the Scannebago as a cross between a Winnebago, a Google Street View car and the pickup truck from Twister, but you might picture a more creative image.) Regardless of the process, many public libraries have scanned works over the past few years and now it is time to organize the digital works for public access across the country—and eventually internationally. Last year, the Berkman Center for Internet and Technology, with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, assembled a steering committee of library leaders to examine and improve public access to online resources. Enter the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), which just received another $5 million from the Sloan Foundation and Arcadia Fund and hopes to launch by April 2013. Led by the steering committee, the DPLA had its first plenary meeting on October 21. As a newbie in the area of digital library policy, I didn’t know what to expect out of the meeting, but I was surprised that some veterans also didn’t know what to expect. This might be a good thing. It will allow each of us, as members of the public, to think about what we want out of our digital public library and voice our concerns to the DPLA, which will hold public meetings soon.”
From Kara Novak’s post on Public Knowledge, The Digital Public Library Of America: How Would You Like To Access Online Resources?