As a follow-up, the G-7 members along with the European Commission decided to take the opportunity offered by the Ministerial Conference held in Brussels on 25-26 February 1995 to identify a number of selected projects where international cooperation could be an asset. These projects would aim at demonstrating the potential of the Information Society and stimulate its deployment. The projects would be initially undertaken by the partners while remianing open to larger participation, including that of international organizations which was encouraged.
It was expected that the consequences of the joint action in this area would provide a concrete contribution to the requirements of the global Information Society and would demonstrate its potential for the well-being of all citizens.
Bibliotheca Universalis is one of these eleven G-7 projects. The 7 founding partners of the project are : BibliothÈque nationale de France and MinistÈre de la Culture et de la Communication (France, pilot), National Diet Library (Japan, pilot), The Library of Congress (United States), The National Library of Canada (Canada), Discoteca di Stato (Italy), Die Deutsche Bibliothek (Germany), The British Library (UK).