About the Digital Library for International Research (DLIR)

Building on the established libraries and research collections of nineteen of its constituent centers, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) in 1999 launched the American Overseas Digital Library (AODL) as a cost-effective, efficient, centralized, Internet-based mechanism for the standardization and electronic delivery of important bibliographic and full-text primary and secondary source information from all CAORC member centers, covering both print collections and research collections in other media. The initial resources for the AODL program were located in overseas centers in Europe, the Near and Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and West Africa. Plans are now underway to include bibliographic materials from Inner Asia and the New World, as well as from other collections in countries that host centers. To reflect this new level of participation and coverage, in November 2004 the program's name was changed to Digital Library for International Research (DLIR).

The keystone of the Digital Library for International Research, and the first of its goals to be completed, is the on-line public access catalog containing the records of all the holdings in all participating libraries. From 1999 until 2008 DLIR's online catalog was maintained at the University of Utah's Marriott Library, but it has now migrated to the Center for Research Libraries, in cooperation with CRL's Global Resources Network. DLIR's catalog continues to grow rapidly as new materials are acquired and cataloged. Additional components of the DLIR program are brought online as they are completed. The resources currently available can be found in the "Access to DLIR" menu on the left.

Last updated: November 11, 2008

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