The Austrian National Library (ANL) has so far uploaded 100,000 of its books to the Internet as part of its Austrian Books Online project, the Library said Monday.

The ANL has been conducting the project in conjunction with Google since 2010, with an ultimate goal of putting 600,000 books totalling 200 million pages into digital, copyright-free form.

General Director of the library Johanna Rachinger said the progress made thus far was cause for celebration, and referred to it as "a milestone in the democratization of knowledge and the history of the Austrian National Library."

More than 20 staff have been exclusively assigned to the project with a further 50 experts assisting. The books online so far can be searched for through the online catalogue of the library and can be read and downloaded in full free of charge.

The ANL is situated at the Hofburg Palace in the centre of Vienna and has a rich history dating back to 1575. It was previously known as the Imperial Library ("Hofbibliothek") founded by the Hapsburg Royal Family, and renamed as the ANL in 1920. Endi

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