Ted Nelson's Xanadu project is:

aiming to integrate the entire library collections of the world into a seamless electronic system, where for example the hypertext reader might start by consulting a modern edition of Shakespeare's Macbeth, dive sideways to explore mediaeval witchcraft, look at the original "first folio" or access any of the thousands of critical essays on the play, simply by selecting different keywords from the texts displayed on a computer monitor."

(Cotton, Bob & Oliver, Richard, Understanding Hypermedia, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 1993, p24.)

However, at the time of writing (December 1996) the future looks uncertain, since a similar project, Project Gutenberg, has lost its funding.

The Gutenberg etext archive's creator, Michael Hart, has issued a plea to the Internet community for support now that both the University of Illinois and Benedictine University have ceased supporting the project. Project Gutenberg, begun in 1971, is an electronic collection of literary works from Cicero's Orations to the complete works of Shakespeare to Zitkala-Sa's Old Indian Legends to selections from Edith Warton. All texts are freely accessible from servers in five different countries or available for purchase in CD-ROM format. Each text is contributed by a corps of volunteers including individuals who enter, proofread and are responsible for the final editing. Texts are available via author or title in uncompressed and compressed format for your reading and bandwidth pleasure. [From the Scout Report] (dreamwave@cybercom.net, 17/11/96)

There is a full description of Project Gutenberg's problems at: <http://promo.net/pg/nl/pgny_nov96.htm>