The goal of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB) is to offer everyone unrestricted access to Germany’s cultural and scientific heritage, that is, access to millions of books, archived items, images, sculptures, pieces of music and other sound documents, as well as films and scores, from all over Germany. As a central, national portal, the DDB is aiming to bring together and network digital content from all of Germany’s cultural and scientific institutions. The DDB should secure Germany’s connectivity and competitiveness in the areas of science, research and education, but also make it possible for anyone to access Germany’s unique cultural heritage and knowledge conveniently via one central point of entry. The fact that this entire wealth of information is now at our fingertips, centrally accessible to anyone who can use a PC workstation with an Internet connection, independent of time and location, constitutes a fundamental improvement to our opportunities in the areas of research, education and the economy.
Scientists, armchair historians, genealogy researchers, journalists, students, school pupils, teachers – the DDB is aimed at all interested parties. Online research of a particular topic – whether professional or private – can be problematic. Popular search engines frequently return too many hits, or too few, and the results are often undifferentiated. And the references cited aren’t always usable. This is often due to outstanding concerns regarding rights, or because the information may not be correct or even authentic.
We have a major advantage: the DDB only makes available material which has been carefully selected and expertly prepared. Users can be sure of the authenticity of content, because all accessible information carries the seal of approval of German cultural and scientific institutions. All of this makes the DDB a point of orientation in the flood of information.
At the same time the portal offers opportunities for discovery and inspiration. Connections reveal themselves to users, unexpected cross-references become apparent. Anyone researching „Beethoven“, for instance, will have immediate access to secondary literature, scores, portraits – and further discoveries are just a mouse-click away.
We have a major advantage: the DDB only makes available material which has been carefully selected and expertly prepared. Users can be sure of the authenticity of content, because all accessible information carries the seal of approval of German cultural and scientific institutions. All of this makes the DDB a point of orientation in the flood of information.
At the same time the portal offers opportunities for discovery and inspiration. Connections reveal themselves to users, unexpected cross-references become apparent. Anyone researching „Beethoven“, for instance, will have immediate access to secondary literature, scores, portraits – and further discoveries are just a mouse-click away.
