In preparation for the workshop, we are asking each participant to write a short paper (2 - 5 pages) that anticipates the content of the final report. A primary goal of the workshop is to develop a vision and mission statement for a digital library of the Middle East and to identify key constituents in a community of practice that can ensure realization. Findings will be incorporated in a report that can inform grant-making agencies and other potential funders of a variety of interrelated activities that will develop and sustain the digital library, including:

• content development and user needs, and the potential for the digital library to support (and transform) research and education;
• digital library architecture and management structures to ensure interoperability, preservation and sustainability of digital assets across many institutions;
• networked infrastructure to ensure connectivity and widespread accessibility of the digital library across the Middle East and beyond; and,
• education of digital managers and of users.

Please identify outcomes that will make the workshop valuable for you, and any issues that have not been identified that you think should be addressed. Please write from the basis of your own expertise. We do not expect that everyone will have experience and knowledge about the Middle East. Your expertise may be in digital libraries, library or museum collections, network engineering, scholarly research, education, intellectual property law, and so on. Having all of these perspectives represented will help to ensure that a range of important issues critical to the success of a digital library of the Middle East are addressed.