ABSTRACT
History and technology provided the Library of Congress with a unique opportunity at the close of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st to realize fully the potential of a digital library – a virtual library without walls, not bound by time or place. History’s greatest innovations have been about mass communication. The printing press linked communities and created a literary culture, the automobile linked urban and rural America, and the internet has spawned a virtual community where, with a PC and a modem, a person can connect, any time, anywhere, with another human being to share information, seek advice, buy or sell a product – the opportunities are limitless.
