Digital Library Overview
INLS 235
Spring 2003

Emerging Concept: Digital Library
Scientific databases
Collaboratories
Shared library materials
Network infrastructure
Digital multimedia technologies
DLI1 & DLI2 Initiatives
DL conferences, workshops, and RFPs
The application of many informatics research and development principles and practices

One Definition
Digital libraries are the logical extensions and augmentations of physical libraries in the electronic information society. Extensions amplify existing resources and services and augmentations enable new kinds of human problem solving and expression. [Marchionini, Encyclopedia of LIS]

Another Definition
The notion of a "digital library" is a metaphor for thinking about data collections in a networked world. Digital libraries may take many forms, but they all share some common infrastructure and goals. For starters, digital libraries build upon collections of digital or digitized data and rely on the Internet for accessing and sharing these collections. Common goals include preserving the data over time for interested communities and helping transform the data into information and knowledge.  [NSF 2002 fact sheet]

Another Definition
The field of digital libraries deals with augmenting human civilization through the application of digital technology to the information problems addressed by institutions such as libraries, archives, museums, schools, publishers, and other information agencies. Work on digital libraries focuses on integrating services and better serving human needs, through holistic treatment irrespective of interface, location, time, language and system.

What is a DL?
Characteristics
electronic digital formats
networked (sharable information)
organization apparent (a library not a pile)
Collection development policy
Systematic data structuring and tagging
use (fair) policy
persistent
guidance and referral
community based

Motivations and Evolution
Technology Push
Technology demands attention—rapid changes (e.g., Moore’s Law).
Funding Push
National Funding: e.g., DLI, NSDL in US, DELOS in EU
Scientific and cultural information needs
Dissemination, preservation, collaboration
Communities
International library community
Conferences, workshops (ECDL, JCDL, ICADL, etc.)

Where is the library?

DL components

Library Extension: Current Digital Library R&D

Digital Library Design Space

Technology
Infrastructure
high-speed networks, mass storage, CPUs
ubiquitous access (home, car, office)
Access
indexing and metadata techniques
Retrieval, transfer, and display techniques
Interfaces
I/O: GUIs, ZUIs, AR
multiple modes, mobile
Software engineering
rapid prototyping, iterative design
interoperability and federated architectures

Community
Changing practice of work and learning
new corporate cultures
new communities of practice--ecologies
Intellectual property
copyrights, derivative work
Interoperation and Standards
data
metadata
Information security and authority
trust
encryption
quality control, watermarking

Content
Selection and acquisition
Collection development and quality control
Rights, digitization
Multimedia (includes code)
Storage, QoS, standards
Indexing and metadata
Policies
Standards
Maintenance & Preservation
Backups, version control, link management
Archives, authority, dispensation

Services
Query and Selection
User interfaces, visualizations, universal access
Reference
NLP, FAQ, Chat
Costs, privacy
Filtering/SDI
Collaborative/recommender systems, ‘MyLibraries’
Learning and Instruction
Consortia, clearinghouses, portals

R&D Challenges
Interoperation
Technical (e.g., hardware, software)
Data and metadata (e.g., formats, protocols)
People (e.g., language, culture)
Institutions (e.g., consortia)
Discovery and Use
Indexing and representation
Retrieval algorithms (e.g., multiple sources of evidence)
Interactive interfaces (e.g., agile views, visualizations)

R&D Challenges (cont’)
Collection Development and Contributions
Degree of control
Version control
Help/Reference
Automatic/human mix (e.g., from FAQ to chat)
Need analysis/ (‘reference interview’)
Maintenance and Preservation
Assuring persistence and stability/authority

R&D Challenges (cont’)
Intellectual Property
Own/license(rent), free/fee
Securing, tracking
Hybrid Libraries
Parallel systems (costs, redundancies)
Informing users

Toward Augmentation: The Sharium Model

Library Augmentations
New types of reuse and sharing
Patron Contributions
Virtual communities and collaboratories
Direct support for creation and use (entire information life cycle)
Collaborative filtering, cataloging, question answering
Open-source libraries

Sharium
A virtual workspace with rich content and powerful tools where people can work independently or collaborate with each other to learn and solve information problems.  A collaborative problem solving environment:
Organized around resources and tools
Encourages contributions and participation
Is sustainable