Strategic Planning. Established in fiscal 2001 and funded with an appropriation of $99.8 million from Congress, the Library's Office of Strategic Initiatives continued planning for the development and implementation of a congressionally approved National Digital Library Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP). The goal of the NDIIPP is to encourage shared responsibility for the collection, selection and organization of historically significant cultural materials regardless of evolving formats; the long-term storage, preservation and authentication of those collections and rights-protected access for the public to the digital heritage of the American people. On Sept. 30, 2004, the Library advanced this goal by awarding a total of $13.9 million to eight lead institutions and their partners to identify, collect and preserve historically important digital materials. These awards from the Library will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the winning institutions in the form of shared costs to execute the cooperative preservation program.
Internet Resources. The Library continued to expand its electronic services to Congress and the nation through its award-winning Web site. During the year more than 3.3 billion transactions were recorded on all of the Library's computer systems. The following are selected resources available on the Library's Web site.
Online Catalog. The Library continued to provide global access to its online public catalog (OPAC). The site recorded more than 436 million transactions during the year—up 20 percent over the previous year.
American Memory. At year's end, more than 9.2 million American historical items were available on the American Memory Web site. In 2004 three new multimedia historical collections were added, bringing the total to 126. Eight existing collections were expanded with new content. These included the George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Bell Family papers, which rendered these collections complete. Use of the American Memory Web site was up by more than 50 million hits this year (from 564 million in 2003 to 617 million in 2004).
America's Library. Work continued to expand the content and features available on America's Library, an interactive Web site for children and families that draws upon the Library's vast online resources. The site has won numerous awards and is one of the most popular online offerings of the Library. America's Library logged more than 218 million transaction during the year as compared with 184 million in 2003.
THOMAS. The public legislative information system known as THOMAS continued to be a popular resource, with 150 million transactions recorded in 2004.
Global Gateway. Work continued on the expansion of the Global Gateway Web site, a portal to the Library's international collections and those of other major repositories worldwide through collaborative digitization projects. Redesign of the site began in fiscal 2004. New content was added to several existing Global Gateway presentations, including Meeting of Frontiers: Siberia, Alaska, and the American West; The Atlantic World: America and the Netherlands; and United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing Cultures. Additions in 2004 included selections from the Naxi Manuscript Collection, featuring ceremonial writings of the Naxi people of China's Yunan Province; and The Lewis Carroll Scrapbook, an original scrapbook kept by the Victorian-era children's author between the years 1855 and 1872.
Online Exhibitions. Seven new Library exhibitions were added to the Library's Web site in 2004, bringing the total to 54. This feature allows users who are unable to visit the Library in person to view many of its past and current exhibitions online.
Wise Guide. Since its inception in October 2002, this lively portal to the Library's main Web site was refreshed monthly, much like a magazine, with links to the best of the Library's online resources.
