Digital Libraries

This fully revised and updated second edition of Understanding Digital Libraries focuses on the challenges faced by both librarians and computer scientists in a field that has been dramatically altered by the growth of the Web. At every turn, the goal is practical: to show you how things you might need to do are already being done, or how they can be done. The first part of the book is devoted to technology and examines issues such as varying media requirements, indexing and classification, networks and distribution, and presentation. The second part of the book is concerned with the human contexts in which digital libraries function. Here you’ll find specific and useful information on usability, preservation, scientific applications, and thorny legal and economic questions. Thoroughly updated and expanded from original edition to include recent research, case studies and new technologies For librarians and technologists alike, this book provides a thorough introduction to the interdisciplinary science of digital libraries Written by Michael Lesk, a legend in computer science and a leading figure in the digital library field Provides insights into the integration of both the technical and non-technical aspects of digital libraries

Digital libraries are now a reality and yet their implementation and use is still not at an optimum. This text examines the various options for setting up digital libraries from digitising information in the first place to providing the interface to access the information held by the digital global library.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, ECDL 2007, held in Budapest, Hungary. The papers are organized in topical sections on ontologies, digital libraries and the web, models, multimedia and multilingual DLs, grid and peer-to-peer, preservation, user interfaces, document linking, information retrieval, personal information management, new DL applications, and user studies.

This authoritative and accessible guide for librarians and computer scientists explores the technologies behind digital libraries, the choices to be made in building them, and the economic and policy structures that affect them.

Digital library is commonly seen as a type of information retrieval system which stores and accesses digital content remotely via computer networks. However, the vision of digital libraries is not limited to technology or management, but user experience. This book is an attempt to share the practical experiences of solutions to the operation of digital libraries. To indicate interdisciplinary routes towards successful applications, the chapters in this book explore the implication of digital libraries from the perspectives of design, operation, and promotion. Without common agreement on a broadly accepted model of digital libraries, authors from diverse fields seek to develop theories and empirical investigations that to advance our understanding of digital libraries.

The book is grouped under five main sub-themes as: Theme 1: Planning Development and Management of Digital Libraries; Theme 2: Collection Development in Digital Environment; Theme 3: Resource Sharing and Networking; Theme 4: New Technologies and Adaptability; Theme 5: Change Management Issues and Strategies.

The technological interoperability of digital libraries must be rethought in order to adapt to new uses and networks. Informative digital environments aimed at responding to heritage, cultural, scientific or commercial demands have taken over the global cyberspace and have redesigned the techno-informative landscape of the Web. However, while the technological models demonstrate their effectiveness and explain to a large extent the creation of digital libraries, archives and deposits, the subjacent concept of uses continues to cause debate. The information technologies used by heterogeneous digital libraries enable a technical interoperability of content. This is not enough to allow the adhesion of a public connected to very different information profiles and techniques. This book explores the avenues of a user-orientated interoperability where the questions of consultation interfaces and content description processes are studied. Discusses Metadata as a resource for linking Provides a practical approach A valuable resource for anyone involved in digital library developments and digital collections and services

"This books presents a holistic view of the new digital library scene ... it is an essential guide to good digital practice and techniques" - back cover.