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Recently,unexpectedly,ImcompletelykeenongoingtoKorea.Why?
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BecauseImdyingtoseetheseguysintheirnaturalhabitat.TheseareD.to,N.to,and
U.to.TheyarethemascotsfortheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKorea,alsocalledthe
dibrary,whichopeneditsdoors(yes,doors)inSeoulonMay25th,2009.According
tothedibraryswebsite,SmartD.toisadigitalknowledgemessengerwhosearches
fortheinformaEonyourequire.D.toisblue,afuturisEccolor,andrepresentsthe
messengerdeliveringnecessarydigitalknowledge.N.to,thegreenmascot,lovesnatureandgreenideas,andsymbolizesthefreedomoftheworldofknowledge.
Andtheredmascotiswarm-heartedU.to,whosymbolizestheguidancetothe
ubiquitousworld,whowillbewithusatanywhereandanyEme.
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Youhavetoadmirethecharmofofditchingadrymissionstatementforatrioof
brightly-colored21st-centuryallegoricalfiguresasrococoasanybe-drapednymphor
undrapedcherubintheLibraryofCongress.
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Youalsohavetoadmirepeoplewhowouldliterallybuildadigitallibrarywithasign
outinfrontidenEfyingitassuch.TheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreatookseven
yearstobuild,atacosttotheKoreangovernmentofabout$112milliondollarsUS,
andbysomeaccountsitcontainsover116millionpiecesofdigitalcontent,which
wouldmakeitalmosteightEmesaslargeastheuropeanadigitallibrary,which
claims15millionitems.That116millionnumber,however,isprobablybasedonadefiniEonofpiecesofdigitalcontentthatincludes(say)databaserecords,andis
thereforenotmeasuredinthesameunitsasmostdigitallibraries.Butreportsalso
tesEfy,morebelievably,thatthedibraryhasdigiEzed380,000books,andthatisa
veryrespectablenumber,onelargerthanthe300,000ebooksofferedforleaseby
NetLibrary,forinstance.
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TheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreaisaneight-storybuilding(fiveofthosestories
underground)thatseats550patrons,anditruns300TBofserverspace.Thephysical
spaceandtheequipmentaresoadvancedastoseemalmostficEonal.Onthemain
floor,picturedhere,therearetouch-screenhelpkiosks.Thereare3Dmonitorsthat
donotrequireviewerstowear3Dglasses.ThereisaGlobalLoungerunningPCsin
nglish,Chinese,Japanese,French,andVietnamese.TherearemulEmediaviewingandcreaEonandediEngspacesaswellasmeeEngandcafspaces.
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Therearemoretouch-screenkiosks,thesededicatedtothesolepurposeofreading
digitalnewspapers.Thereareelectronictableswithtouch-screensurfaces,andon
thosetablesyoucansee
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digitalsurrogatesofhistoricKoreanbooksastheylieopenflatbeforeyou,seemingly
inthetableratherthanonit.
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ThereisapermanentartinstallaEonthatdisplayscustomizedvideosbasedonauser
recogniEonfuncEon.Thereisanenormousscreenreservedonlyfor3Dtext,
includingusermessages.ThereisaLaptopZone,andthereisaProducEvity
ComputerClusterwhosedesktopcomputershavelargemonitorsandmulEple
monitors.
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ThereisaconnecEngbridgecalledtheWayofKnowledgethatconnectstheNaEonal
DigitalLibraryofKoreawiththeNaEonalLibraryofKorea,andprojectedonthewalls
oftheWayofKnowledgearemoEon-sensiEveinteracEvecontents.
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Andthereis,ofcourse,D.to,N.to,andU.to.Getmydri?Feelasuddenlongingtogo
toKorea?
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ButtheKoreandibraryisnotjustaboutfancyphysicalspacesorsymboliccartooncharacters:itsverymuchaboutprovidingawholesetofnaEonallibraryservicesforKorea.InSeptember2009,justafewmonthsaerthedibraryfirstopened,KoreanlawwasalteredinordertogiveKoreandibrarianstheauthoritytocollectandindeedresponsibilityforcollecEngKoreandatafromtheopenweb.Certainkindsofdata
werelegallyrequiredtobedepositedinthenaEonaldigitallibrarysoastoenablenotonlypreservaEonbutalsotheproducEonanddistribuEonofalternaEvematerialsforthedisabled.NowcentrallycoordinatedbytheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreaareallkindsofdigitalservices,fromtrainingprogramstointerlibraryloan.ThedibraryisevenchargedwithcreaEngaonecardsystemthatgivesaccessto699publiclibrariesnaEonwide,asystemscheduledtogolivein2012.AndonceKoreahasfullynaEonalizedasmanylibrarymaterialsandservicesasitcan,itsapparentlynotgoingtostopthere:lastsummerameeEngwasheldtoplanaChina-Japan-KoreaDigitalLibrary,anAsiandigitallibraryorportalmodeledaerTheuropeanLibraryproject.Tomeitsoundslikethesecondsteptowardthesingledigitallibraryfiledcontentedlyawayinthehummingsystemsofthestarshipnterprise,waiEngtobeaddressedwithaquesEon:Computer...
ItisthenaEonalcharacteroftheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreathatledmetodiscoverit,nottheuniquephysicalityofitsdigitalitysoseducEvelycelebratedonFlickr.For,asyouallmaybeaware,thereistalk,serioustalk,ofbuildinganaEonaldigitallibraryfortheU.S.,thoughsofarallsuchdiscussionhasusedthetermbuildingmetaphorically.
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Infact,thefirstarEclelobbedintotherecentdiscussionofaU.S.naEonaldigital
libraryisEtledALibraryWithoutWalls,indicaEngthatitsauthorisusingthe
tradiEonaldefiniEonofadigitallibrary,theonethatdefinesadigitallibraryasstrictly
digital.RobertDarnton,thatpiecesauthor,isthedirectoroftheHarvardUniversity
Library.InOctoberof2010,heconvenedameeEngatHarvardof42top-level
representaEvesfromfoundaEons,culturalinsEtuEons,andthelibraryandscholarlyworldstodiscusshowtocreateanaEonaldigitallibraryfortheUnitedStates--
Thatis,acomprehensivelibraryofdigiEzedbooksthatwillbeeasilyaccessibleto
thegeneralpublic,ashewroteontheNewYorkReviewofBooks blogaerward.
DarntonmadenomenEonofabuilding,norKorea,andusermessagesdisplayedona
large3Dmonitorwereapparentlythefarthestthingfromhismind.Heevokedinstead
theRepublicofLeers,VoltaireandJeffersonandtheirnlightenmentidealsof
widelysharedknowledge.
Forallthat,DarntonsperspecEve,perhapsnaturallyenough,wasnotthatofthe
publiclibrarian.HisthoughtsaboutwhotoinvitetotheiniEalmeeEngdidnotrunto
publiclibrarians,andhedidnotimaginethatsuchaprojectcouldbefundedbythe
taxpayers,averringinsteadthatAcoaliEonoffoundaEons,universiEes,andother
nonprofitorganizaEonscouldbeformedtocoverthecosts.
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Similarly,inanOctoberinterviewwithJenniferHowardfortheChronicleofHigher
Educa:on,Darntonsaid,Oneofthefirstthingswediscussedwasthefinancial
problem.Itdidnttakelongforpeopletheretoarriveataconclusion,whichis:We
candoit.veryoneseemedconvincedthatthisiscertainlywithinthescopeofa
fundingcampaignbyfoundaEons.Grant-makinggovernmentfoundaEonssuchas
theNaEonalndowmentfortheHumaniEesandtheNaEonalScienceFoundaEonwereprobablyincludedinthatcategoryaswellasprivategrantorssuchasthe
AndrewW.MellonfoundaEon,butapartfromthatthereseemstohavebeenlile
hopethattheU.S.governmentwouldstepindirectlytofundsuchaproject.
Nevertheless,whatthegroupofresearchlibraryleaderspicturedsoundedmorelike
apubliclibrarythanlikearesearchlibrary:
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SaidDarnton,Theagreementwasverysolidaboutthedesirabilityofthisthing,and
thentherewasdiscussionaboutwhatthiswas.Ingeneral,Ithinkitfairtosay,
everyonethoughtthelibraryshouldbeonefortheAmericanpeople,bywhichImean
notanexclusiveresearchlibrarybutagrandcollecEonofbooksthatcouldbeusedin
juniorcollegesandhighschoolsandinsEtuEonsofeverysortthroughoutthe
country.PubliclibrariansbegantonoEcethattheywerebeingleoutofthediscussionofhowtocreatethisthingthatsoundedagoodbitlikeapubliclibrary,and
Darntonandhisgroupbegantomakechangesinresponse.
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AndrewW.Mellonsfather,JudgeThomasMellon,whosefinancialsuccesswouldeventuallyresultintheformaEonoftheMellonfoundaEon,wouldhaveapprovedofleavinggovernmentsoutofit,asDavidCanadinereports:
InNovember1881,AndrewCarnegieoffered$250,000fortheconstrucEonofa
municipallibrary,onthecondiEonthatthecorporaEon[ofthecityofPisburgh]commit$15,000ayeartoitsmaintenance.TomeetthiscondiEon,statelawwouldhavetobechanged,enablingthecorporaEontoearmarkpublicfundsforthispurpose.TheJudgebelievedinreading,hewasacquaintedwithCarnegie,andtheysharedScoshancestry,adevoEontoBurnsandSpencer,andapassionforfreeenterprise.Buthewasvehementlyagainstthisgi,fearingthatanysuchstatutoryalteraEonwouldopensEllwiderthefloodgatesofmunicipalprofligacy,civicdebt,andcaucuscorrupEon.HeproposedanalternaEvescheme,wherebyalibrarywouldbebuiltandmaintainedbythepublicsubscripEonsofrichindividuals,andforaEmehisplanscarriedtheSelectCouncil.ButtheFlinn-MageemachinewasdeterminedthattheCarnegieschemeshouldprevail,andtheensuingbalewouldlastfiveyears.ventually,inOctober1886,theSelectCouncilacceptedCarnegie'sterms,withthe
JudgecasEngtheonlydissenEngvote.Meanwhile,Carnegiehadincreasedhisgitoonemilliondollars,tofinancenotonlyalibrarybutalsomoreextensivebuildingsdevotedtothearts,science,andtechnology.Asaresult,thecity'sannualobligaEonformaintenanceroseto$40,000ayear,confirmingtheJudge'sworstfearsaboutmunicipalprofligacyandwaste.(69)
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Italwayssurprisesmealile,navefoolthatIam,thattherecanbeanydoubtthata
libraryisapublicgoodthatcontributestoamoreinformedandhappierciEzenry,and
thatitisthereforealegiEmateexpenseofgovernment.Butofcourse,tax-supported
publiclibrariesasweknowthemtodayhavereallyonlybeenaroundsincethemiddle
ofthenineteenthcentury,andinfactitwasthatsameAndrewCarnegiewhowould
dothemostofanyonetocreateanaEonalsystemofpubliclibrariesinAmerica.HadtheJudgeprevailed,heavenonlyknowswhetherwedhavepubliclibrariesatall
todaythePisburghlibraryunderdiscussionwastheveryfirstofover1600libraries
CarnegiewouldfundintheUnitedStatesonthecondiEonthatlocalgovernments
committosupporEngthem.(ThoughCarnegiehadbuiltonelibrarypreviouslyinthe
EnyScoshtownwherehehadgrownup.)
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Andofcourse,governmentshaveslashedpubliclibrarybudgetsinboththeU.S.and
theU.K.lately,tothepointwhereonegroupoflibraryusersinMiltonKeyneschecked
outallthebooksintheirlocallibraryasaprotestagainstitsplannedclosing.
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So,then,DarntonisapparentlywisenottoseekfederalfundingforaNaEonalDigitalPublicLibraryofAmerica,althoughleadersattheNaEonalArchivesandtheLibraryofCongressareindeedinvolvedintheplanning,andalthoughappealstoCongressmayyetbeonthemenu.Consider,too,thatwehavealreadyhadaNaEonalDigitalLibraryiniEaEve,andwhileitwasnotafailure,itwascertainlynotwidelytransformaEve.Someofyoumayevenrememberallthewaybackto1990whentheLibraryofCongresssAmericanMemorypilotprojectbegan,
endingin1994havingdigiEzed(andputonCD-ROM)some200,000publicdomainitemsrelatedtoAmericanhistory.In1994,theNaEonalDigitalLibrarytookoverthesamework,andbeginningwith$60millionoverfiveyears($45millionofitdonatedbytechnologycorporaEons)eventuallydigiEzedabout9millionarchivalitemsinthepublicdomainforAmericanMemory.OnecriEqueofthisproject,influencedbyMichelFoucaultandEtled,unoriginallyenough,LibraryofWalls,pointsoutthatitwasveryfarfrombeingintheAmericanpublicsinterest:[T]he"NaEonalDigitalLibrary"isanythingbutthe"plainvanilla"presentaEonofhistoricalmaterial,writesSamuelCollins.Rather,theenEreAmericanMemoryprojectfromitsincepEonin1990toitsconEnueddevelopmenttodayshows[...]acarefulselecEonandorganizaEonofmaterialsdesignedtobothhighlighttheinsEtuEonoftheLibraryofCongressandappealtotheLibrary's"clients,"especiallyCongress.TheLibraryofCongress,letusremember,isnotdejurethenaEonallibraryoftheUnitedStates.
AndyetsurelythelargestproblemwithcreaEngaDigitalLibraryofAmericaistheprovinceofbothCongressandtheLibraryofCongress.Letmehearyousayit:
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copyright.WesawinthecaseoftheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKorea(whichis
physicallylinkedbytheWayofKnowledgetotheexisEngNaEonalLibraryofKorea,a
naEonallibrarydejure)thattheKoreangovernmentwaswillingtochangeitslawsin
ordertobeerenablethedigitallibrarytodoitsworkofpreservaEon.Isour
governmentwillingtodothat?Doesanyoneknowhowmuchitcoststohirea
lobbyist,anddoesanyoneknowwhetherMellonorSloancanpayforthat?
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Well.Copyright.Inanycase,youmightbeaskingyourself:Whatdoesthishavetodowithme,ahumblelectronicResourcesLibrarian?Afewthings.Firstofall,pieinthesky,imagineanAmericannaEonallibraryconsorEum,andimaginethebargainingpowersuchaconsorEumwouldhavewithSTMjournalpublishers.Asithappens,KoreaisagainanilluminaEngexample.In2002,anassessmentofaKoreandigital
libraryeffortforuniversityresearcherscalledtheResearchInformaEonServiceSystem(RISS)discoveredthat95%ofitsuserswereseriouslyfrustratedbytheirinabilitytoaccessthefulltextofforeignjournalarEcles.Koreanlibrariessimplycouldnotaffordtopaythepermissionfees.Fouryearslater,in2006,KoreahadformedaconsorEum:theKorealectronicSiteLicenseIniEaEve(KSLI),partlymodeledonOhioLink,increasedtheuselevelsofscholarlyinformaEontosixEmeshigherthanaveragethanbefore.Imaginethat.
MorerealisEcally,iftherereallydoescometobeaseriousnaEonaliniEaEveinwhichacademicandpubliclibrariansactuallypartneronprovidingbroadaccesstoelectronicresources,thatsachangeelectroniclibrariansinresearchlibrariesshouldtobeawareof,too,andfosterorresistasjudgmentsuggests.
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Lastly,andmostimportantly,whetherthiseverwindsupaffecEnglectronic
Resourceslibrarians,ifitdoescometopass,itwillaffectusasciEzens.
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Itisthereforegoodtoknowthattherearewaysinwhichwecanshareourthoughts.
TheintrepiddirectoroftheCenterforHistoryandNewMedia,DanCohen,isonthis
verydayaendingameeEngoftheDPLA,andheismorethanwilling
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toreceivethewisdomofthecrowdviaTwier.Hashtag:#dpla.
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DPLAalsohasanopene-maillistthatanyonecanjoin,andawikithatanyonecan
edit.Iforoneplantofollowthisprojectcloselyasitevolvesandsharemyopinions
viathelistservandothermeansjustassoonassaidopinionsdescendvoraciously
uponmelikeaCoopershawkdivingforamouseinthereadingroomoftheLibrary
ofCongress.Youshoulddolikewise.
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(AndtellthemyouwanttheNaEonalDigitalPublicLibraryofAmericatohaveacool
buildingliketheyhaveinKorea.WecanputitinDetroit.)
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Addendum:Inthecourseofresearchingthispaper,Iputtogetheraspreadsheetwith
somebasicinformaEonaboutsomelargedigitallibrariesinthatcategoryIinclude
commercialproductssuchasNetLibraryandOverDriveandAudibleaswellas
universityandfoundaEonprojectssuchasHathiTrustanduropeanaandgovernment
iniEaEvessuchastheNaEonalLibraryofNorwayandGallica,thenaEonaldigital
libraryofFrance.Feelfreetobrowseandanalyze.--Amanda