The first library website was the website of the Helsinki City Library
in Finland, which went live in February 1994. From then on, more and
more traditional libraries had a website as a new "virtual" window for
their patrons and beyond. Patrons could check opening hours, browse the
online catalog, and surf on a broad selection of websites on various
topics. Libraries developed digital libraries alongside their standard
collections, for a large audience to be able to access their
specialized, old, local, and regional collections, including images and
sound. Librarians could finally fulfill two goals that used to be in
contradiction: preservation on shelves, and communication on the
internet. Library treasures went online, like Beowulf, the earliest
known narrative poem in English, dated circa 1000, or the original
Bible from Gutenberg, dated 1455, on the website of the British
Library.
May 1994 > The Human-Languages Page, an online catalog of linguistic
resources
Created by Tyler Chambers in May 1994, the Human-Languages Page (H-LP)
was a comprehensive catalog of 1,800 language-related internet
resources in 100 languages in September 1998, with six subject listings
(languages and literature, schools and institutions, linguistics
resources, products and services, organizations, jobs and internships)
and two category listings (dictionaries, language lessons). In spring
2001, the Human-Languages Page merged with the Languages Catalog, a
section of the WWW Virtual Library, to become iLoveLanguages, with an
index of 2,000 linguistic resources in 100 languages in September 2003,
and 2,400 linguistic resources in September 2007.