DELOS Network of Excellence on Digital Libraries Yannis Ioannidis University of Athens, Hellas Digital Libraries: Future Research Directions for a European Research Program

Motivation › Production of huge amounts of digital information › Access to this impacts “all” citizens’ activities › Essential behavior changes needed to fully participate in Info Age › Central role for Digital Libraries

DL Definition › Digital Library, Museum, Archive, … › Why: learning and research › What: information and services  comprehensive  rich forms and kinds  read-and-expand-only › When: value at depth of time

Information Space for DLs Structure of Data Knowledge of Users/Tasks Digital Libraries Databases Web Low High

Present  Future › Present: ad hoc development of individual digital library systems › Future: development of industrical-strength generic digital library tools

Present › Every new digital library is developed from skratch › Ad hoc development for a particular application › No reuse of existing infrastructure Major waste in effort and cost

Future › Generic digital library technology is developed › Specific applications and services established on top of existing infrastructure Major savings in effort and cost Major step towards standardization

Research Hierarchy Vision Goals Problem Areas Specific Research Topics

Grand 10-Year Vision 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

Conceptual Framework Contents Management Usage Applications + Impact Digital Library System

Contents: 10-Year Vision Creating high-quality, semantically rich, comprehensive information collections for depth of time

Contents: Problem Areas › Collection building › Collection access and navigation › Non-traditional kinds of objects › Multilingual, multicultural collections › Collection preservation

Conceptual Framework Contents Management Usage Applications + Impact Digital Library System

Management: 10-Year Vision Developing self-sustainable and expandable DL systems, offering high-quality information and services

Management: System Architecture › Component-based architecture › Multi-tier architecture

Management: Architectural Problem Areas › Openness › Interoperability and metadata › Scalability › Availability › Session-flow and work-flow management › Security › Quality - Evaluation › DL administration

Conceptual Framework Contents Management Usage Applications + Impact Digital Library System

Usage: 10-Year Vision Optimal user experience in DL interactions

Usage: Problem Areas › User interfaces › Information visualization › Personalization - customization › Community information space  Multilingual and multicultural interactions › Collaboration › Universal access › Multi-channel access

Conceptual Framework Contents Management Usage Applications + Impact Digital Library System

Applications › Digital Libraries in and for  Cultural Heritage  Education  Medicine  Entertainment  Science and Technology  Government  Environment

Socio-Economic Impact › Business modeling › Sustainability › Copyright issues

Grand Challenge Establishment of an Initiative for an Integrated European Cultural Digital Library, which leads to the development of a comprehensive Digital Library of European history and cultural heritage

Stakeholders › Diverse groups should collaborate  Memory institutions (libr, mus, arch)  Commercial content owners (broadc, publ)  Software (and telecom) industry  Universities and research institutions

DELOS Contribution › 6 thematic research workshops  Next one on “Nontraditional Objects” › 2 brainstorming workshops › 7-8 DELOS/NSF working groups Shaping up future research agenda Fostering collaboration of teams