an information commons

CBS News is reporting on an initiative that sounds promising in Building A Green Space In Cyberspace. The author of the CBS piece, Larry Magid, explains the motivations of an organization called Digital Promise, and the scope of the project that they are working towards:

The proposal is designed to do for learning what the National Science Foundation did for science. The group wants to "digitize the cultural DNA of our society" so the types of materials that are now housed in universities, libraries and museums can be made available for the enrichment and education of all.

Digital Promise expands upon the information provided by Larry Magrid on their page entitled The Potential, and in a white paper on that page. I haven't had the opportunity to read through the whole white paper yet, but this does sound like it has the potential to be a very positive effort.