DELOS NoE Digital Library research directions ELAG/DELOS workshop on IT Profiles and Curricula for Libraries Parma, October, 2005 VIttore Casarosa ISTI – CNR

2 DELOS Network of Excellence An initiative funded until 2007 by the European Commission, under the 6 th Framework Program. Presently it has 55 members: European Research Consortium for Informatics and MathematicsIstituto di Scienze e Tecnologie dellInformazione – CNRSwiss federal Institute of Technology ZurichUniversity of BathUniversity of AthensTechnical University of CreteUniversità degli Studi di FirenzeFraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.University of GlasgowUniversität Duisburg-EssenStichting Centrum voor Wiskunde en InformaticaRisoe National LibraryFoundation for Research and Technology – HellasUniversità degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza – DISBrunel UniversityNational Technical University of AthensUniversità degli Studi di PadovaUniversità degli Studi di MilanoUniversity for Health Informatics and Technology TyrolMax-Planck-Ges.z.F.d.W.vertr. d. MPI fuer InformatikKuratorium OFFIS e.V.Queen Mary & Westfiled CollegeUniversity of StrathclydeIonian University, Archive and Library Science DepartmentUniversité Paris-sud XI/Laboratoire de Recherche en InformatiqueUniversity of SouthamptonThe University of EdinburghInstitute for Information Processing and Computer Supported new MediaVienna University of TechnologyUniversity of UrbinoNorwegian University of Science and Technology – DCISLund University /Lund University Libraries, Head OfficeInstitut National de Recherche en Informatique et en AutomatiqueAristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis National Archief Univesitaet Bremen Phonogrammarchiv der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Universität zu KölnConsorzio FormaSwedish Institute of Computer Science ABUniversità degli Studi di Modena e Reggio EmiliaMasarykova univerzita v BrneUniversiteit van AmsterdamUniversità Della Svizzera ItalianaMagyar Tudományos Akadémia Számítástechnikai és Automatizálási KutatóintézetUniversità degli Studi di Bari - Dipartimento di Informatica

3 Main Objective To define and conduct a joint program of activities in order to integrate and coordinate the on-going research activities of the major European research teams in the field of digital libraries for the purpose of developing the next generation digital library technologies

4 Other Objectives Network and structure European research on digital libraries, so as to consolidate an emerging community Network and structure European research on digital libraries, so as to consolidate an emerging community Contribute towards improving the effectiveness of European research in the digital library field Contribute towards improving the effectiveness of European research in the digital library field Provide a forum where researchers, practitioners, and representatives of interested applications and industries can exchange ideas and experiences Provide a forum where researchers, practitioners, and representatives of interested applications and industries can exchange ideas and experiences Promote cooperation between European and national digital library initiatives Promote cooperation between European and national digital library initiatives Improve international cooperation in DL research areas Improve international cooperation in DL research areas

5 Activity Organization The Network activities are organised into a set of Research Clusters (Work Packages): The Network activities are organised into a set of Research Clusters (Work Packages): – WP1: Digital Library Architecture – WP2: Information Access and Personalization – WP3: Audio/Visual and Non-Traditional Objects – WP4: User Interfaces and Visualization – WP5: Knowledge Extraction and Semantic Interoperability – WP6: Preservation – WP7: Evaluation – WP8: Dissemination and Spreading of Excellence

6 Dissemination and Spreading of Excellence Network Web Site Network Web Site Electronic Newsletter Electronic Newsletter Thematic Workshops Thematic Workshops Brainstorming Workshops Brainstorming Workshops Joint Workshops Joint Workshops National Awareness Events National Awareness Events Summer Schools Summer Schools

7 Information Space for DLs Structure of Data Structure of User Behavior Digital Libraries Databases/IR Web Low High

8 Conceptual Framework Digital Library System Contents Management Usage

9 Digital libraries should enable any citizen to access all human knowledge anytime and anywhere, in a friendly, multi-modal, efficient, and effective way, by overcoming barriers of distance, language, and culture and by using multiple Internet-connected devices

10 The potential exists for digital libraries to become the universal knowledge repositories and communication conduits for the future, a common vehicle by which everyone will access, discuss, evaluate, and enhance information of all forms Grand 10-Year Vision #2

11 Digital Library Management Systems Management Visualisation (generic) User Interface (generic) Access (generic) Preservation (generic) Visualisation (specialised) User Interface (specialised) Access (specialised) Preservation (specialised) Spoken-Word Audio Mgmt Personalisation Customisation

12 Research Directions User-related research System-related research Circles of User Experience Layers of System Architectures Foundation research Horizontal issues

13 System-related research Digital Library System Architectures –Addressing large-scale distribution, scalability, availability, reliability, self organization, etc. –Peer-to-peer, GRID middleware, Service-Oriented Architecture Information Access to Digital Libraries –Indexing for novel data types (e.g. similarity measures) –Query routing Audio/Visual Digital Libraries –Automatic meta-data extraction –Content-based retrieval –A/V user interface Semantic Interoperability in Digital Libraries –Integration of higher-level ontologies

14 Foundation research Reference Model for Digital Library Systems –Conceptual framework for the architecture, functionality, operations and behavior of a DL

15 User-related research User Interfaces for Digital Libraries –New query and browse paradigms (non-conventional objects) –Task-specific user interfaces –Collaboration oriented functionality (e.g. annotation) Digital Library Visualization –Visual clues in presentation of information –Direct user manipulation of visualized information –Adaptabilty to different devices Personalization in Digital Libraries –Modelling of user preferences –Increased use of context –Query routing

16 Horizontal issues Digital Library Curation and Preservation –Integration of preservation functionality into system design –Automation of the selection and ingest of materials into a preservation repository Digital Repositories –Access policies –Infrastructures Digital Library Evaluation Methodologies and Infrastructure –Framework for comparative evaluation of DL systems –Multilingual information access (CLEF) –XML information access (INEX)

17 Digital Libraries adjective := Digital content abstraction := created entity := Library

18 New name for Digital Libraries ? Libraries Environments Spaces Gardens Commons Forums Architectures Worlds Realms Data Information Knowledge Digital Pervasive Dynamic Universal Ubiquitous Collaborative

19 Whats in a name ? DIGITAL LIBRARIES... what's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet…... DYNAMIC UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENTS KNOWLEDGE COMMONS

20 The end Many thanks for your attention Further information at: or