A.M.TammaroNMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010 Digital collection Anna Maria Tammaro

A.M.Tammaro NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

Digital collection

Anna Maria Tammaro


Digital collections Virtually everything published in past 25

years in developed world was in machine readable form

At least at some stage of publication cycle Material published in past 20 years ~ 60% of items published since invention of printing press

In ~ 5 years will comprise 90%


AcquisitionMost notable change nature of library

collections Librarians less custodians of collections Frequently establish and maintain

gateways to information resources maintained by others at disparate, remote locations


Print collection Importance of physical collections has

diminished and will continue to diminish Vast collections of traditional printed

&manuscript materials libraries have amassed over centuries will resist digitization for some time

However, will constitute ever-decreasing fraction of resources researchers & casual users will want to consult


Information The Internet has convincingly

demonstrated– Value & importance of information– Power of electronic tools to locate & retrieve

information


Access Access may be restricted to authorized

users or fees may be required for access But, in principle, users have access to a

vast, collective array of information– Sources joined together by Internet

Consequently, digital libraries linked together as a virtual library– Unprecedented richness & scope


POSDCRB

–Planning–Organizing–Staffing–Directing–Coordinating–Reporting–Budgeting


Negotiation Generally NOT negotiate simple purchase

of physical objects Negotiate terms & conditions of access to

resources owned & controlled by others Need to ensure immediate needs of users for

access to information satisfied Also need to ensure that long term — e.g.,

archival needs of users protected


Cooperative acquisitions Many purchase & licensing agreements

cooperative agreements involving multiple partners

Immediate interests & needs of digital libraries’ users balance against economic & service benefits of membership in consortia


Bibliographic organisation Acquisition & bibliographic organization

intimately interconnected Acquisition of new resources

Locating sources on the Web and including references to them in library catalog or page on library’ s Web site

Increasingly difficult to separate acquisition from cataloging & to separate both from reference Frequently new, useful resources discovered in course of

answering reference question


Importance of print collections Vast quantities of materials already

published in traditional formats still very important

But, overwhelming fraction of materials users wish to consult in machine-readable form very shortly


Conversion of print collections Material in traditional formats converted to

digital format Facilitate access Facilitate conservation


Change in collection development Librarians will create, reorganize and

renew digital libraries in response to changing needs of users

Collection development Separate that information useful to library’s

users from vast array of cyberspace’s electronic rubbish

Collection development bound up with other activities


Digital library collection DLib collections NOT created by physical

acquisition of materials DLib collection created by adding:

Records for remote electronic source to library catalogs;

Links to remote sources on Web pages; and Reference to remote sources in bookmark lists


Control zone Ross Atkinson Items included in DLib’s catalog, Web page

or bookmark list gain special status Items rendered more accessible than rest

of WWW


Digital collection maintenance Collection development & acquisition no longer

simple, one-time efforts Items once acquired require ongoing care &

attention to ensure continuing validity of references & links to them

Probably future technical solution will ensure continuing integrity & validity of links

For immediate future professional, human attention will be needed


Preservation Preservation & conservation of DLib

resources multiple, new dimensions Problems further complicated by because

libraries will NOT hold many—or most—of items in collections

Collections only references to physical resources held by others


Authenticity and integrity Encryption and digital signatures ensure

authenticity & integrity Techniques will continue to undergo

changes & refinement Librarians vested interest in efficacy of

techniques used and will need to be conversant with developments in these technologies

Documents

A.M.TammaroNMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010 Digital collection Anna Maria Tammaro