* Is your gateway to The New York Public Library’s rare and unique international holdings in digitized form, including:

o Historic maps

o Rare prints and photographs

o Illuminated manuscripts

o Unusual printed ephemera

o Sound files and moving images

o Original art and more

* Continues to fulfill the Library's traditional mission in the Internet Age to collect, preserve and make its holdings available

* Connects you to digital versions of increasingly valuable, fragile and hard-to-use originals by offering a ever-growing selection of digital collections

* Offers many holdings in their entirety, ensuring the virtual equivalent of consulting them in person

* Organizes holdings via topical or thematic groupings into virtual collections, helping bridge physical (departmental or organizational) separation

* Maintains current links to related NYPL websites such as online exhibitions, archival finding aids, and e-books

* Reflects ongoing development and evolution of best practices in the digital environment

* Results from setting benchmarks and correlating practices institution-wide for capture, description, storage, retrieval and delivery of digital surrogates