Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Digital Library
Digital Library
Digital Library
Keywords: Digital Library, Hybrid Library, Digital Preservation, Digital Library Archives
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nance. Digital preservation is the method of keep- Traditional Libraries Digital or Electronic Library
ing digital materials alive so that they remain usable Print collection All resources in digital
and software specifications obsolete. Digital pres- Stable, with slow evolution Dynamic and ephemeral
Individual objects not Multi-media and fractal objects
ervation is a process by which digital data is pre-
directly linked with each other
served in digital form in order to ensure the usabil- Flat structure with minimal Scaffolding of data structures
ity, durability and intellectual integrity of the infor- contextual Metadata and richer contextual metadata
mation contained therein. Scholarly content with More than scholarly content
validation process with various validation
2. Digital Library processes
Limited access points and Unlimited access points,
A digital library is a library in which collections are centralized management distributed collections and
culation and OPAC are called as automated library. Work: Digital libraries are to be used by
The holding of this type of libraries are same as individuals working alone. There is work oriented
the traditional libraries. perspective focusing on a group of information
analysts, work being done and the documents and
c. Electronics Library: When automated library
technologies that support it.
goes for LAN (Local Area Networking), CD-ROM
networking, starts procuring e-journals and other Technology: Technologies which are used for
similar kind of publications then it is known as digitization are as follows:
electronic library. The resources of the electronic
Computer Technologies
libraries are in both print and electronic form. The
electronic media are used for storage, retrieval and Processing Technology
delivery of information. Communication Technologies
d. Digital Library: It is a later stage of electronic Display Technologies
library. In digital library, high speed optical fibers
are used for LAN and access is over WAN and Trans-bordering of Information: Breaking the
provide a wide range of Internet based services, physical boundaries of data transfer within and
i.e., audio and video conferencing and like others. outside the countries. It is viewed that the sup-
Majority of holding of a digital library are in the port for communication and collaboration is as
computer readable form and also act as a point of important as information seeking activities.
access to other online sources. 4. Functions of Digital Library
e. Hybrid Library: The libraries, which are work- Functions of digital libraries are:
ing both in electronic or digital and print environ-
ment, are known as hybrid library. Actually it is a Access to large amounts of information to
transitional state between print and digital envi- users wherever they are and whenever they
ronment. need it.
The different characteristics of digital library are as Support multimedia content along with text.
follows: Network accessibility on Intranet and
Collection: A digital collection of electronic Internet.
documents or other resources presented as a User-friendly interface, hypertext links for
purposeful assemblage, e.g., organized and navigation.
presented according to library or archival principles
or representing the digital holdings of an Client-server architecture.
institution. Advanced search and retrieval.
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Promote efficient delivery of information eco- Computer: Server, PC, with multimedia, UPS, etc.
nomically to all users.
Software: Any suitable software, which is in-
Encourage co-operative efforts in research re- terconnected and suitable for LAN and WAN
source, computing, and communication net- connection
works.
Network: LAN, MAN, WAN, internet, etc.
Strengthen communication and collaboration
between and among educational institutions. Storage devices: Optical storage device, CD-
ROM, Jukebox, etc.
Take leadership role in the generation and dis-
semination of knowledge. Scanner: H.P. Scan Jet, Flatbed, sheet feeder,
6. Components of Digital Library Drum Scanner, Slide Scanner, Microfilm Scan-
ner, digital camera, Barcode Scanner, etc.
The components of a digital library are:
Printer: Laser Printer, Dot Matrix Printer. Digi-
Infrastructure, Digital Collection, Systems tal Graphic Printer, etc.
function
Audio Visual: Color TV, V.C.R, Sound box, Tele-
Telecommunication facility, Human resources
phone, etc.
Hardware Requirements are:
6.2 Resources
Computer servers, Networks, LAN/WAN,
Converters, Scanners All the materials, either print or electronic/digital
Internet Connectivity, Storage media, material which can be stored, organized, transmit-
Multimedia Interface, UPS ted and displayed by the computer without any in-
tervening conversion process, are the resources of
Software Requirements are:
a digital library. For a digital library there are two
Liner Operating Systems, Digital Library types of resources:
Software, Greenstone, Fedora
6.2.1 Online Resources
D-space, Editing Software, E-print
E-books, v-books, electronic text, map, image,
6.1 Basic Needs for Digital Library
sound, video, and multimedia, etc.
For the development and operation of digital
E-journals
library, the technological environment is pro-
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Local database of traditional books in machine- information needs, characteristics, and contexts of
readable form the people who will or may us those libraries.
LAN, MAN, WAN for web browsing, e-mail, For the development of digital library, firstly we
etc. should plan for our task or objectives of any type of
library and what issues are addressed prior for the
Well trained man power for online help
development of digital library. It is not a detailed of
6.2.2 Offline Resources step by step guide, it is used to provide guidance
what is wrong and what is right to his/her library,
CD-ROM
which resources are more valuable for library. Plan-
Audio Visual aids, etc. ning is used to provide backbone for any digital
library.
7. Digital Libraries Services
8.1 Planning Aspects
Some of the services of digital libraries are:
There are some points to be kept in mind when plan
Catalogue databases, making scholarly
for creating digital library:
journals accessible on the web
Information Needs: There are three main
Hosting digital collection and indexes,
components of any library, resources, librarian
Current Awareness Bulletins
and the most important one is its user. If there are
CD-ROM Databases, Remote Information no users there is no need for establishing library.
Services, Search engine services For planning for digital library, we have to keep in
our mind which type of users have access it to it
Internally published newsletters, Reports and
Journals, Internet information and if access are not restricted, what are the next
steps for library to fulfill the need of its users.
Electronic Document Delivery Services,
Reference Service Quality in plan: We plan for what type of software
is beneficial for our digital library. Are users are
Electronic Publishing, Web-based reference satisfied with it? What are benefits of using this?
and information services Is it easy to learn? How searching facility is
Special Collection Services, e-mail, ETD, provided to users in an easy way? Those entire
Electronic Table of Contents questions have to be answered before we prepare
plans for creating digital library.
8. Planning For Digital Library
Security issues: Security issues for the
Digital libraries serve communities of people and development of any digital library are must. There
are created and maintained by and for people. People are some pre-planned rules of using digital library
and their information needs are central to all libraries, which are to be clarified concern how users access
digital or otherwise. All efforts to design, implement, their desired information. Backup plan, if in case
and evaluate digital libraries must be rooted in the of any mishappening is also required. How to
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control security threat protection (firewall, Creation of Digital Library: After preparing plan
antivirus, etc.), has to be determined. it is time to create the digital library.
IT Infrastructure: Digital library requires well 8.2 Guidelines for Digital Library Design
tested and proven information technologies includ-
The following aspects can be considered as
ing the multimedia kit, data handling, memory, pro-
guidelines for the development of the digital library
cessing and storage, computer software such as
architecture.
OCR and library application software, etc.
Service driven: The architecture for the digital
Digitization: For digitalization of library resources
library must be driven by the services it provides
such as book, serials, thesis, dissertation reports,
and tools required for delivering the service.
current and back volumes of periodicals, institu-
tional publications, seminar proceedings in digital Open Architecture: The architecture of the digital
form equipments like scanners, printers, digital cam- library must be open, extensible and support
era have to be procured. interoperability among heterogeneous, distributed
systems.
Access: Users are required to be given user ID
and password to access the materials in digital Scalability: The digital library architecture must
form. There should not be limitations for access of be robust, scalable and reliable with high
digital materials for authorized users. transaction rate for users with a wide variety of
backgrounds and information needs.
Staffing: The staffs have to be trained in
handling digital work. Practicality: The digital library architecture should
represent a flexible and practical approach to
Funding and Budget: To meet the expenditure for
standards, recognizing the need to balance the level
the digital library, appropriate funds should be pro-
of information collection with economic
vided by the library authorities. Plan for budget,
constraints.
other aspects related to digital library like, human
resources, software, hardware application, etc. Up- Privacy: The digital library architecture must be
grading new technologies, etc. are another impor- sensitive to privacy issues and support both
tant aspect for planning a digital library. anonymous and customized access to resources.
Digital Library Committee: A digital library com- Time Frame: The time frame required to plan for
mittee should be formed to plan for its creation system migration in the next year as well as
and maintenance. The members must be from vari- planning for a technology generation framework
ous library departments and, if necessary, consult- should be approximately 3 to 5 years.
ants can be hired. There are at least two ways of
9. Building Digital Collections
developing a digital library, firstly by converting a
traditional library into a digital library, and sec- The traditional library’s major collection is print
ondly, by direct development of a digital library. medium and now the libraries are being converted
into hybrid libraries, wherein the collection also
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9 th Convention PLANNER 2014 Planning , Designing and De veloping...
consists of both print and digital collections. As 10.1 Other Digital Libraries
discussed earlier, looking at the advantages of
Some other digital library initiatives under mega
digitization, the libraries are building their digital
center project in co-operation with Lis. Sc, CMU
collection. Various methods adopted for building
and MCIT for the Government of India and 21
digital collections are:
participating centers are:
Directly creating the digital documents.
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Downloading the digital information from Administration.
internet.
Delhi Engineering College, Library.
By digitizing the existing collections. Delhi University, Library.
Procurement of digital materials such as e- Birla Institute of Technology and Science,
journals, e-books, e-reports, etc. Pilani.
Getting the digital materials information online. Association of Indian Universities.
Given below are some digital libraries of India: National council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT).
Digital Library of India, IIS, Bangalore
Dyal Singh Library.
Nagri Pancharini Sabha, Varanasi.
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Kumaun University, Nainital.
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)
G. B. Pant University of Agriculture &
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Technology, Pant Nagar.
Digital Library of India Institute of Management, Once digital library is created, for its long term ben-
Kozhikode. efits, maintenance is must. This is to ensure that
library system is working in good condition and for con-
Digital Library of Library & Information Science. ducting routine review of library holdings. It is also to be
ETD at Indian Institute of Science. ensured that files are downloaded properly. New content
have to be identified. Tools which are chosen for access-
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Digital ing information should work properly. Converted file
Library format to required format have to be secured. Financial
Nalanda Digital Library resources for review of materials in library have also to
be secured. For this, feedback from library user is to be
Vidyanidhi : Digital Library obtained. Antivirus has been properly worked or not.
(Figure 1)
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12. Digital Library: A Global Connection 13. Preservation of Digital Contents in a Digital
Library System
Digital libraries are emerging in many parts of the
world to give access to the world’s scientific devel- Preservation and archiving of digital contents is one
opments. Searching across these multidisciplinary of the most serious concerns of libraries, whether
repositories is a daunting task. Some of the research acquired through subscription, purchased in digital
in the digital libraries initiatives is beginning to in- media or converted in-house. Moreover, the aca-
dicate that this can be done. A global intercon- demic community looks upon libraries to preserve
nected library network of existing collections has materials that were ever accessible to them on
begun to emerge. Its Web site (www.ifla.org) is main- internet at least in an offline digital format, such as
tained by the International Federation of Library stored on-line (or on CD-ROM, diskettes or other
Association and Institutes (IFLA). IFLA launched physical carriers) or to the products of analog to
an electronic network strategy in 1994 as an experi- digital conversional long-terms access in intended.
ment to connect its members to its conference in There is a wide range of digital formats available
Havana, Cuba. At the beginning of 1998, libraries and to make smaller more complicated, different digi-
in more than 70 countries were connected to this tal object have different preservation requirements.
global library network, sharing information and ex- These can depend on the reason the record is being
pertise. The Figure 2 shows the digital archive in preserved, how long it needs to be preserved, the
the library. context and history of the record, and its original
format. Digital preservation does not mean the same
thing for each digital object. In all cases the record
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9 th Convention PLANNER 2014 Planning , Designing and De veloping...
must be preserved so that it retains its integrity and Standards for architecture
is authentic and usable.
Standards for preservation access
Monitor the preservation implications and pri-
Standards for interoperability
orities for preservation implications and pri-
orities for preservation of different informa- Standards for preservations content
tion resources,
Standard for document Format
Store and manage these resources to ensure
high security, automated checking, archiving 13.3 Digital Preservation Policy
and back up with adequate disaster prepared- At the present time, the policy for ensuring long-
ness and recovery procedures, term storage, maintenance, migration and access to
Document collections including file formats, digital materials, weather at the local or national level,
software and hardware dependencies, are not frequently present both in the private and in
the public sector. Moreover, the policies publicly
Classify these resources based on their con- available via web are mainly developed by cultural
tent and functionality, heritage institutions and have been elaborated very
Record preservation of metadata that facili- recently. The primary aims of a policy are to provide
tates effective and efficient management, and guidance and authorization on the preservation of
digital materials and to ensure the authenticity, reli-
Develop appropriate pathways to access ability and long-term accessibility of them. More-
these resources in conformity with its authen- over, a policy should explain how digital preserva-
ticity, intellectual property rights (copying, tion can serve major needs of an institution and
storage, modifications and use of specific re- state some principles and rules on specific aspects
sources) and cost effective as well. which then laid the basis of implementation.
Digital preservation is the methods of keeping digital Softwares that does digital preservation for asset
materials alive so that they remain usable as management come in two forms:
technological advances render original hardware
There are softwares that help to manage items
and software specifications obsolete. Digital
through the entire digitization process and
preservation is a process by which digital data is
create a “place” for users to locate (e.g. CON-
preserved in digital form in order to ensure the
TENT dm).
usability, durability and intellectual integrity of the
information contained therein. Secondly, there are softwares that only pro-
vide indexing and access services, but do
13.2 Standards for digital preservation
not provide a wide verity of file formats in-
For preservation of digital documents or informa- cluding digital image (e.g., in magic content
tion overtime, the following types of standards are server). The software packages listed below
required. fit into one of these categories:
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9 th Convention PLANNER 2014 Planning , Designing and De veloping...
and evolving nature of the environment. This envi- Job loss for traditional publishers and
ronment is subject to immense change very quickly, librarians
and a key role for the librarian in the future will be Costs are spread and many become hidden.
the ability to adapt and to work effectively in such
Copyright, initial high cost, band width, speed
an environment.
of access and preservation
15. Advantages of A Digital Library
17. Conclusion
The advantages of digital libraries include:
There will be continuing expansion of digital library
Nearly unlimited storage space at a much activities. LIS and computer science professionals
lower cost face challenges that will lead to improved systems.
More and more libraries will have departments and
Re-allocate funds from some staff, collec-
programs in the digital library arena. Digital libraries
tion maintenance, and additional books
will build upon work being done in the information and
No physical boundary, structural approach data management area. Digital libraries provide an effec-
tive means to distribute learning resources to students
Round the clock availability
and other users. Planning a digital library requires
Multiple access, networking thoughtful analysis of the organization and its users, and
an acknowledgement of the cost and the need for infra-
Enhanced information retrieval
structure and ongoing maintenance (Adams, Jansen, and
Preservation for print material Smith 1999). Digital libraries present opportunities and
challenges for the library and information communities
Added value, information retrieval
and all stakeholders. It also is going to be part of day to
Universal accessibility day professional activity in the next couple of years. In
simple words, it is quite impossible for libraries and in-
16. Limitations of A Digital Library formation centers to meet the various information needs
of the present day society without library networking.
Besides the several advantages listed above, there
One hope in the near future that all the libraries in world
are also some limitations of digital libraries as be-
will be without walls, and resources of all libraries will be
low:
available to the whole user community through networked
Lack of screening or validation digital libraries.
Lack of preservation of a fixed copy (for the The relevancy of the Ranganthan’s Five Law of Li-
record and for duplicating scientific brary Science is still prevalent in this new digital era
research) also as information scientists have reinterpreted it
in the following manner:
Lack of preservation of “best in class”
Digital resources are for use.
Difficulty in knowing and locating every-
thing that is available, and differentiating Every user his/her digital resources.
valuable from useless information
Each digital resource for its user.
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Planning , Designing and De veloping... 9 th Convention PLANNER 2014
Save the time of the digital resource user. America Society for Information Science, 1999,
26 (1): October/November.
Digital library is an overgrowing organism.
7. GOPAL, K. Digital libraries in electronic infor-
As such to realize their mission and goal, profes-
mation era. New Delhi: Author Press, 2000.
sionals working in the digital library environment
need to develop skills to render services in the most 8. GREENSTEIN, D.I., & Thorin, S.E. The digital
efficient and effective manner to meet the needs of library: A biography. Digital Library Federa-
the users. The digital preservation is process that tion, 2002.
requires the best available technology, careful
9. JEBARAJ, D., & DEIVASIGAMANI, M.
thought, administrative policy and procedures. Pres-
(2003). The electronic library: An Indian sce-
ervation in the area of digital technology is charged
nario. Library Philosophy and Practice 5 (2).
responsibility. Therefore, the information profes-
Available: http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/
sionals are to be trained in area of digital preserva-
jebaraj.html
tion and digitization techniques.
10. KAWATRA, P.S. Textbook of information sci-
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