The online version of the Library's Marshall Plan exhibition was featured at a conference on "Bridging the Atlantic: People to People Links," held at the State Department on May 5-6.
Cosponsored by the State Department, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), the European Union and the German Marshall Fund, the conference explored new forms of cooperation between European and U.S. educational institutions, foundations, libraries and nongovernmental organizations.
Working with the Library's European Division, the Dutch National Library created its own online Marshall Plan exhibit featuring materials from the Dutch collections relating to the Marshall Plan and its implementation in the Netherlands. The Library exhibit and the Dutch exhibit were linked on the World Wide Web, allowing users to view the materials from both libraries.
The conference resulted in a series of recommendations for expanded transatlantic cooperation -- including in the area of digital libraries -- which in turn were endorsed by the U.S. and European governments during the U.S.-European Union summit in The Hague on May 27-28. USIA showcased the U.S.-Netherlands pilot project to the international press at the summit.
Other national libraries in Europe are committed to joining the project in the coming months. Besides the Marshall Plan, candidate topics for U.S.-European digital-library cooperation include immigration and exile literature.
