Digital collection

1. Digital collection Anna Maria Tammaro NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

2. 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% NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

3. Acquisition Most 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

4. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

5. Information • The Internet has convincingly demonstrated – Value & importance of information – Power of electronic tools to locate & retrieve information NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

6. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

7. POSDCRB –Planning –Organizing –Staffing –Directing –Coordinating –Reporting –Budgeting NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

8. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

9. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

10. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

11. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

12. Conversion of print collections • Material in traditional formats converted to digital format • Facilitate access • Facilitate conservation NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

13. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

14. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

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

16. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

17. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010

18. 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 NMPLIS Summer School, Tblisi, July 5th-15th, 2010