The ‘China Digital Library for People with Disabilities’ recently passed the acceptance review authorised by the Ministry of Culture as an innovative national cultural project.

This project was started up in 2010 by the National Library of China (NLC) in partnership with the Information Center of the China Disabled Person’s Federation (CDPF), aiming to benefit the country’s 83 million handicapped persons, whose family members amount to as many as 260 million.

The project makes a successful combination of NLC’s wealthy holdings with the technical expertise of the CDPF in providing barrier-free online access to information. Researches and practices were carried out to define the resources and services to be delivered, and to specify the technical guides and standards for development and construction. As of now, the website of the  has received 15 million online visits in merely half a year from home and abroad including Australia, the U.S., Canada and Spain.

The ‘China Digital Library for People with Disabilities’ is, according to Mr. CHEN Li, deputy director of the NLC, not only a tangible and practical R&D outcome, but also a platform where more convenience are available to the handicapped to offer equal opportunities to participate in the social life.