“old style” libraries, digital libraries:
DESCRIPTION
“Old Style” Libraries, Digital Libraries:. Convergences, Divergences, And the Troubles in Between. What is a “Digital Library?”. Physical Libraries :. Bound to the medium of the book Embodiment of the “sedimented” values & practices of print culture, including - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
“Old Style” Libraries,Digital Libraries:
Convergences,
Divergences,
And the Troubles in Between
What is a
“Digital Library?”
Physical Libraries :
• Bound to the medium of the book
• Embodiment of the “sedimented” values & practices of print culture, including– Fixity of the print artifact / manufactured
object– Finite set of well-known paths to items– Built-in structures of legitimation & authority– Importance of local repositories
“Library Function”
• Identify, acquire, organize, support, and preserve cultural and intellectual expression in its recorded forms
• Core values:– Unfettered availability of all materials to meet
educational, cultural, intellectual, civic, and personal needs
– Commitment to standard methods & practices in service of resource sharing & open access
– Preserve the cllection, i.e. keep it permanently accessible
“Library Function,” cont’d
• Libraries as cultural heritage institutions• Libraries as embedded in larger social
systems:– Communities (cities, towns)– Colleges & universities– Corporations & similar organizations
• Library as social / physical / virtual nexus for the cultural & intellectual record
Repository & Service Roles
• All true libraries are defined by coherent and carefully assembled collections keyed to specific domains, with services supporting associated user needs. For example:– Public Libraries – general readers– College Libraries – undergraduate learning– University Libraries – advanced learning & research– Special Libraries – corporate or organizational
research
Browsing & Serendipity
• Physical libraries, through their classified grouping of related items in open book-stacks, have long supported two key aspects of learning & intellectual inquiry:– Browsing of related items– Serendipitous encounters with unexpected or
previously unknown ideas & materials
“Deep Access”Indexical and Research Aids
• Libraries incorporate structured tools for analytical access to “buried” information, including indexes & abstracts, reference compendia, bibliographies & finding aids, and experienced intelligent human agents, also known as “reference librarians.”
Libraries as Filtering Systems
• Libraries are (medium independent) complex and layered filtering and access systems – for aggregating cultural and intellectual
materials– for providing efficient routes into the specific
content of those materials
Evolutionary Models:From Physical to Digital
• Library Web Sites as “Digital Gateways:”– Villanova Library Web site
• Entry point to content & resources accessible elsewhere• Delivery medium for new digital services• Provides “information architecture” for wide array of
heterogeneous items (databases, journals, e-books, research aids, etc.)
– "Internet Public Library“• More generic approach for general Web users
– Online Books Page (UPenn)
Libraries as Content Creators:Phase I
• Convert physical items for digital access• Describe items for access in online
environment– From “cataloging” to “metadata”
• Provide enhanced searchability• Make unique local resources universally
available• Sustain commitment to ideal of “coherent
collections”
Library Content Creators:Some Examples
• Making of America (Mellon cooperative)
• Electronic Text Center (UVa)
• Perseus Project (Tufts)
• Digital Bridges (Lehigh)
• Irish Press -- (Villanova) [Netscape view]
• Irish Press (Villanova) [IE View]
Digital Conversion:Project Challenges
• Lack of standards
• Lack of robust, fully-functional software
• Metadata requirements– Descriptive– Structural
• Need to replicate some aspects of physical artifact
• Lack of integration with other services
Some Broader Projects
• California Digital Library (CDL@UC)
• National Science Digital Library (NSF)
• Association for Computing Machinery
The Realities of the Information Age
(David Lankes, Syracuse University)• Information (and Knowledge) has Escaped
the Confines of Text– A Digit is a Digit
• The Computer Science Community is Unprepared– Digital Preservation, Digital Libraries without
Name Authority, the Hidden Web
• Librarians at the mercy of the Computer Scientists
The Cultural Shift(Lankes, again)
• Librarianship as a Technical Skill
• Librarians as the Knowledge the Guides the Information Age– Conscience of the Computer Scientist
• Partners
• Active and Advocate for Those We Serve– Entice our Partners to Solve our Problems– Solve our Own Problems…
• And benefit from the solutions
Convergence of Traditional & Digital:Mature Library Technology Environment
• Portals & personalization• “Federated searching” / Meta-searching / XML gateways• SRW / SRU• “Virtual reference”• Course Management software resource integration• Desktop delivery of shared / converted documents• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition• Institutional Repositories• Technology-mediated research skills training• Push toward digitization of Special Collections and other
unique materials• Digital Rights Management
Key “Digital Library” Initiatives
• Google “print” (U of Michigan, Stanford, NYPL, Harvard, BL, etc.)
• Million books project• Open Archives Initiative• Metadata Harvesting• Networked Digital Library of Electronic Theses &
Dissertations• Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resource
Coalition• Digital Library Federation standards• Fedora project
Questions?