A general course in digital libraries:

A case study

Tefko Saracevic, PhDSchool of Communication, Information & Library StudiesRutgers University, USAhttp://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko/

1©© 2008 Tefko Saracevic

Table of Content

• Purpose; dilemmas; • What is a digital library?• Why teach a general course in digital

libraries? – rationale for course & topics• What to teach in such a course? –

content for course & topics• How to teach such a course? - methods• Experiences• Generalizations, conclusions, challenges

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This is an open source course

All the materials – lectures, assignments, exercises,

discussions –

are freely available at

http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko/Courses/e553/index.htmThis paper & lecture at http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko/articles.htm

following Creative Commons 3©© 2008 Tefko Saracevic

Purpose of the paper

by concentrating on description of a specific courseat a given institution

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To suggest a range of topics for general digital library courses in contemporary & ever changing digital environments

Dilemma?

• Digital libraries (DL) are– relatively new in comparison to brick &

mortar (B&M) libraries– but explosive growth

• in many areas in and out of libraries

• B&M library education well established– digital library education is not yet– but need is growing to

• educate competent DL professionals • & for ALL librarians to know about dig libraries

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What is the dilemma?

Why? The rationale why do we want to teach the given course?Or a given topics within the course?

What? What topics do we want to teach in the course?Or within a topic what do we want to teach?What topics we do NOT want to teach?

How? How will we go about teaching the course?Or given topics?

Given that we want to have a general, introductory course in digital libraries

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These are three classic questions for any course and every topic in a courseThese are three classic questions for any course and every topic in a course

What is a digital library?

• Technological perspective:

distributed & organized knowledge resources in digital formats

• how to collect, store, organize, diverse types of information - texts, images, sounds, multimedia …

• Institutional perspective:

select, structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use

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Differing conceptions, perspectives = differing approaches, concerns, implementations

Differing perspectives = different education• Technological:Infrastructure

Oriented toward technological aspects – hardware, software, networks - needed to develop & run digital libraries, with all kinds of media & distributed

Mostly centered around computer science

BUT librarians have to know a lot about it

• InstitutionalContents & structure

Oriented toward mission of given institutions

Concentrates on operations, service logical extension of libraries, museums …

Content, collection, access centered

- various types of materials, digitization, preservation

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In this course, as in library & information science education

• Technological issues:

To some extend treated in LIS education – but most students need basics to follow up

Other courses address technology, thus only lightly treated here

Trend: separation of technological from institutional components

• Institutional issues:

Integration between print and digital

mixing new digital technology with print, local with global; managing diverse resources - all difficult

Competition for scarce resources sharpening

Cultural & social adjustments not easy

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In this course

Other courses

Course objectives; themesA. Concepts: What are digital libraries? Differing

conceptions, approaches and implementations. Evolution and stakeholders.

B. Content: Changing nature of collections and resources in digital environments. Digitization.

C. Organization: Representation of digital library content; metadata.

D. Services: Alternatives in access to digital libraries. User communities and use. Evaluation.

E. Research & development: Research and developmental projects and initiatives in various fields.

F. Context: Institutional effects. Management. Social, economic, ethical, and legal concerns.

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Organization in topicsA. Concepts:

B. Content:

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topics …C. Organization:

D. Services

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7.

Digitization – processes & standards

topics …

E. Research & development:

F. Context

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11.

Preservation efforts & approaches

Why?No simple answer - not a

matter of definition but rather one of conception.

Several constituencies interested in digital libraries developed differing conceptions of what is encompassed.

Different stakeholders emphasized different stakes.

Digital libraries are evolving.

What?What are some of the

conceptions of digital libraries and where did they come from?

How do they differ and relate?

Distinction between approaches to digital libraries in research, in technology & institutional settings

Basic structure and content of digital libraries

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1.

What is a digital library?

Why?Libraries were always

connected with technology from ancient clay tablets to modern information and communication technology.

From this historical perspective, digital libraries are a further evolutionary and even revolutionary step in library implementations and services.

What?Starts with a series of

illustrations that show historical connection between libraries and technology, ending in present digital technology.

Continues with examination of some pioneering ideas and people that affected development of digital libraries

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2.

History & predecessors

Why?Everything about digital

libraries changes quite rapidly – practices, structures, configurations, processes, research results

A professional in order to be and remain a professional has to keep up with relevant information and advances. So do students.

What?A list of information sources,

both online and print, classified according to their nature. Links are provided in the lecture for further examination and pursuit.

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3. Keeping up with

advances in dig libraries

Why?Digital libraries come not only

from libraries (be they academic, public, national, special …), but from many other institutions & subjects not at all connected with a given library as an institution.

They have a great variety of content; many are oriented toward specific subjects.

Most importantly: they are used by a variety of users & for a variety of uses.

• What?A survey of various types of

digital libraries:• National libraries• Academic libraries• Public libraries• Borne digital libraries• Museums• Subject resources• DLibs in societies,

organizations• Books on the Web• Web archives

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4.

Diversity of digital libraries

Why?The concept of what constitutes

a collection in the networked environment is undergoing a transformation from the age-old concept of library collection signified by ownership.

A new concept of a digital collection is evolving incorporating adaptations of many old features & standards, & creation of many brand new ones.

What?Forces shaping differing

collection concepts in digital environments

Broadening concepts of collections

Management of digital collections

Selection criteria

Contemporary issues with digital collections

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5.

What is a collection in digital libraries?

Why?A prerequisite for effective

searching and handling of digital resources is effective organization and representation of data or content in a way that machines can recognize what is what and then act accordingly.

Enter metadata as a solution - a standardized description of what a text or any object is all about.

What?Importance of metadata in two

environments: library and the Web.

Precursors of contemporary developments in metadata

Specification of standards for metadata

Examples of standards in several domains

Metadata projects

Application problems

Ultimate idea: The semantic

web.

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6.

Representation of information. Metadata

Why?In a technical sense,

digitization is the process of creating a digital image from an information object – text, picture, sound … .

But in a broader sense, digitization involves a number of other processes & a host of decisions related to these processes. The aim is to explore digitization in this broader context.

What?A number of decisions that

have to be made in• selection of object to digitize• criteria and constrains in

selection, including legal requirements

• determination of standards for scanning

• scanning technology & process

• quality control of scanned objects, and

• posting for use.

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7.

Digitization – processes & standards

Why?Ultimately, digital libraries

exist to provide services.

Digital libraries may be and have been viewed as extensions & augmentations of physical libraries.

But, because of technology involved, they also provide a number of additional functionalities, which translate into additional & different services.

What?Comparing functions and

services of physical with those of digital libraries.

Examining services unique to digital libraries.

Considering access as a major service, including numerous components.

Exploring visions for digital libraries in general – as they translate into services.

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8.

Services. Access & use.

Why?Evaluation is an essential

process in finding how digital libraries performed, how user reacted, and what are issues or problems in their usability.

In digital libraries criteria are not standardized. Thus, evaluation presents a formidable problem not only in carrying it out, but even in formulating what & how is to be evaluated.

What?Considering evaluation as

assessment of performance (effectiveness, efficiency) of digital libraries.

Particularly problematic in evaluation is determination and selection of criteria & methodologies to be used as a base for evaluation. The pragmatics of actually conducting evaluation is addressed.

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9.

Evaluation of services. Criteria & methods

Why?Digital libraries present a

formidable set of problems for research to establish an effective alliance between modern technology and use of libraries containing human knowledge records. This goal is often expressed as “Connecting people, information and technology.”

As in many other fields, DL practice & research have to be connected for progress in both.

What?Considering research in

digital libraries from differing perspectives.

Up to now, we were primarily oriented toward addressing digital library progress and issues from a library perspective.

Another perspective, mostly coming from computer science is examined.

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10.

Research in digital libraries

Why?As it turns out, digital medium

provides the widest possible access to human knowledge records in history & at the same time has the least lasting rate. It perishes easily and fast; often it exists only fleetingly.

Preserving digital records has become a major problem for digital libraries – from small to big ones, from public to national.

What?Preservation has many

dimensions, some include compatibility between media and technology, others refer to economic and physical sustainability, & still others to storage and access over time.

Examination of a variety of dimensions of digital library preservation & major projects aimed at preservation.

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11.

Preservation efforts & approaches

Why?For a long time, economics of

publishing & of libraries has been set. Now these old models are changing. Digital resources changed radically economic exchange relations and consideration of value.

New economic models have not been settled yet, they are still evolving, for libraries, publishers, users, and use.

What?Explore new economic models

evolving in relation to digital library operations that are quite different from traditional library economic models.

Explore new economic models of publishing, or more precisely digital publishing.

Consider the interaction between the two.

Critical economic issues facing digital libraries.

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12.

Economic issues in digital libraries

Why?The Internet & digital resources

provide a big challenge to consideration of copyright, fair use, & a host of other legal aspects, such as rights management. Laws & legal decisions in many countries grappled with them. Digital libraries are affected: there is a legal limit on how certain digital content can be handled, used & managed & how access is provided.

What?Explore the legal framework

of digital library management, access, and use; and

In a broader vain, explore some of the new legal challenges and conflicts in the digital and Internet realm.

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13.

Legal issues in digital libraries

Why?Digital libraries are affected

by trends in their broader and more immediate environments. By trend it is not meant here to guess or prophesize a future, but to survey and follow some general tendencies and directions that are readily observable.

What?Survey effects on digital

libraries of trends in:

1. digital information in general

proliferation of digital information

changes in role of d-information

increased competition

new services

measuring, justification

2. specific changes in their:

immediate institutional or community environment

users & use

technology developments

legal, policy and political contexts.

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14.

Trends. Projections in the future

How? Methods

Associated with each topic are four components: lecture, assignment, exercise, discussion.

Lectures provide an overview of the topic, raise critical issues, and provide links to sites as examples.

Assignments consist of readings, & then a synthesis of the main points & a critical essay type of discussion of given questions.

Exercises provide some hand-on experiences as related to the topic.

Discussions revolve around questions raised by instructor or students.

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Term project

A term project is large, independent and term-long. The purpose of the project is for students to gain considerable knowledge and competencies in the selected topic.

Choice of three kinds of projects:

1. A comprehensive, critical evaluation and comparison of a number of digital libraries or digital library projects

2. A design proposal for a digital library for a defined constituency or for a specific digital library project, topic or service.

3. An implementation of a digital library prototype for a small digital library, or a specific DL function

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Deriving generalizations

• Suggest here a model of digital libraries based on users & use

• All users have their own context, and task for use of a digital library

• All digital libraries also involve a context (economic, legal, social, cultural) – assumed here, not shown

• All digital libraries also involve a technical infrastructure – assumed here not shown

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A model for a digital library course & education

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seeking inf

d-lib

rary

Conceptscollection

organization

services

preservation

evaluation; outcomes

users, tasks, contexts

Research & development

Conclusions

• Education in digital libraries is global• Two major tracks

– technological – infrastructure– institutional – structure

• Many librarians active participants in both– systems librarians involved most

• Today, most, if not ALL, librarians have to know about digital libraries– & have competencies to differing degrees

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Conclusions …

• In education we are still struggling as to what to teach in digital libraries

• Practice is ahead of education

• Here is but one example of a set of topics for digital library education

• And possibly for librarians to consider what they have to know about digital libraries

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DubrovnikDr. Bozo TezakConferenceTaken by Bob Hayes1977