Restrictive qualitications for entry, payment to obtain a reader’s card, a
general atmosphere of intimidation are some of the features of the existing
great libraries; but they are also the betrayal of the very purpose of their
establishement during the Modern Age, namely that of democratizing access
to knowledge and circulating ideas. A goal which the Digital Public Library
of America (DIPLA) project aims to achieve thanks to new technological
infrastructures. It deals with an horizontal network growing day by day, that
links up digital collections in libraries, archives and museums in the world
designed with the aim to making the cultural heritage of america available,
free of charge, to everyone in the world.
Keywords: Digital Public Library of America, diffusion of knowledge,
cultural heritage, open-access, technological infrastructure.