World Wide Web Virtual Library
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
 Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the Virtual Library | |
| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | CERN (in 1991), , |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Created by | Tim Berners-Lee |
| Founder(s) | Tim Berners-Lee |
| Editors | Arthur Secret, et al. |
| Key people | Tim Berners-Lee, Arthur Secret, Bertrand Ibrahim |
| Services | Web directory |
| URL | vlib |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 1991 |
The World Wide Web Virtual Library (WWW VL) was the first index of content on the World Wide Web and still operates as a directory of e-texts and information sources on the web.
Overview
The Virtual Library was started by Tim Berners-Lee creator of HTML and the World Wide Web itself, in 1991 at CERN in Geneva.[1] Unlike commercial index sites, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are experts. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "WWWVL", the "Virtual Library" or just "the VL".
The individual indexes, or virtual libraries live on hundreds of different servers around the world. A set of index pages linking these individual libraries is maintained at vlib.org,[2] in Geneva only a few kilometres from where the VL began life. A mirror of this index is kept at East Anglia in the United Kingdom.[3] A VL-specific search engine has operated for some years on its own server at vlsearch.org.[4]
The central affairs of the Virtual Library are coordinated by an elected Council. A central index (the 'Catalog') is maintained and joint services are provided by the Council on behalf of the association.[citation needed]
The World Wide Web Virtual Library participated in the SOPA protests on January 18, 2012.[5]
History
The Virtual Library was first conceived and run by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991, and later expanded, organised and managed for several years by Arthur Secret as the "virtual librarian",[6] before it became a formally established association with Gerard Manning as its Council's first chairman.[7] The late Bertrand Ibrahim was a key contributor to the pre-association phase of the Virtual Library's development and then served as its Secretary until his untimely death in 2001 at the age of 46. A brief history, with links to archived pages and screenshots, is maintained on the Vlib website.[7]
The Virtual Library has grown over the years, so there are now[when?] around 300 sub-libraries within the main library. For example, there is the WWW-VL History Central Catalogue,[8] which was launched on 21 September 1993 by Lynn H. Nelson at Kansas University.[citation needed] From April 2004, it was relocated at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy, where a history of the catalogue is also available.[9] The Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp) were added by Jonathan Bowen to the Virtual Library to cover museums in 1994.[10]
The Virtual Library ceased to function as a genuine collective in 2005, although individual virtual libraries continue to be important and valuable academic resources.
See also
- Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp), the VL entry on museums
References
- ^ Wall, Aaron. "History of Search Engines: From 1945 to Google Today". Search Engine History. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
- ^ "The WWW Virtual Library". vlib.org. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "The WWW Virtual Library". vlib.org.uk. UK. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "VLsearch". vlsearch.org. Archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-02-12. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
- ^ "The WWW Virtual Library". January 18, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
- ^ Gillies, James; Gillies, Robert (2000). How the Web was Born: The Story of the World Wide Web. Oxford University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0192862075.
- ^ a b "History of the Virtual Library". The WWW Virtual Library. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "WWW-VL History Central Catalogue". vlib.iue.it. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "About the WWW-VL History Central Catalogue". WWW-VL History Central Catalogue. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ Karp, Cary (October–December 1999). "Setting root on the Internet: Establishing a network identity for the museum community". Museum International. 51 (4). UNESCO: 8–13. doi:10.1111/1468-0033.00223.
