1. DIGITAL LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW Dr. I. R. N
DIGITAL LIBRARIES: AN OVERVIEW Dr. I.R.N. Goudar Head, ICAST National Aerospace Laboratories Bangalore –
One day Seminar on
Digital Library Services for Technical Colleges
Basaveshwar Engineering College
Bagalkot –
15 April 2006

2. Traditional Libraries
Libraries with the same purpose, functions, and goals
Collection development and management
Technical Processing
Index creation
Counter Transactions
Reference work
Preservation

3. What is Digital library ?
A Service? An Architecture?
A set of Information Resources?
A set of tools to locate, search, retrieve information?
Possibly the tools to create such resources and services also fall within the purview of DLs
Digital face of traditional libraries
Include both digital collections and traditional
Backbone and nervous system of libraries.

4. Defining the Digital Library
“A digital library service is an assemblage of digital computing, storage, and communications machinery together with the software needed to reproduce, emulate, and extend the services provided by conventional libraries based on paper and other material means of collecting, storing, cataloguing, finding, and disseminating information.” (Gladney H.M, et. al. 1994)
“Digital Libraries are a set of electronic resources and associated technical capabilities for creating, searching,and using information…they are an extension and enhancements of information storage and retrieval systems that manipulate digital data in any medium (text, images, sounds,static or dynamic images) and exist in distributed networks” (Borgman, 1996)

5. What is Digital library ?
Borgman identifies two major aspects
DL researchers from Computer Science focus on content for user communities and therefore emphasize the enabling technologies
Library professionals appear to emphasize DLs as services
However require both the skills of librarians as well as those of computer scientists

6. What is important? Site Neutrality Access-Anytime (24*7)
Anywhere (Office, Residence, Travel)
By Anyone
Open Access and Sharing of information
Greater variety and granularity of information
Up-to-date ness
New forms of rendering ( New Genre)
Integration of digital media into traditional collections
Digital libraries are different in that they are designed to support the creation, maintenance, management, access to, and preservation of digital content

7. Five Elements in Various Definitions of DL
The digital library is not a single entity;
The digital library requires technology to link the resources of many;
The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are transparent to the end users;
Universal access to digital libraries and information services is a goal;
Digital library collections are not limited to document surrogates: they extend to digital artefacts that cannot be represented or distributed in printed formats.
Association of Research Libraries (1995)

8. Goals of DL
Focused on digitization technology, metadata schemes, data management techniques, and digital preservation.
Second-generation digital library
exploring new opportunities and developing new competencies.
Third-generation digital library
focusing instead on fully integrating digital material into the library’s collections through a modular systems architecture.

9. Digital Libraries Shorten the Chain
Reviewer
AUTHOR
Editor
Publisher
A&I
DIGITAL
LIBRARY
Consolidator
USER
Library
ROLES
READER
AUTHOR
LIBRARIAN
EDITOR
LEARNER
TEACHER

10. Ingredients for DLs Hardware Software Digital Objects
The minimum machinery to do the job
Software
The programs for handling data
Digital Objects
Articles, Conference Papers, Thesis,……
Basic Skills
Things one has to learn

11. Hardware A Server A good PC Scanners Flatbed – Auto feed, Back to back
You’ll need access to a web server
A good PC
Scanners
Flatbed – Auto feed, Back to back MF
Book Scanner

12. Software Open Source Software (OSS) Dspace, E-Prints, Fedora, GSDL……
Proprietary software you can’t avoid
Image Editing and Optical Character Recognition Software have to be purchased

13. Hardware- Software Network
High-speed local networks and fast connections to the Internet
Relational databases that support a variety of digital formats
Full text search engines to index and provide access to resources
Web servers and FTP servers (both intranet and internet)
Electronic document management functions

14. Digital Library Content
Content Types
Text
Documents
Video
Audio
Geographic
Information
Software,
Programs
Bio
Information
Images
and
Graphics
Articles
Reports
Books
Manuscripts
News Papers
Theses
Tech. Reports
Speech
Music
Movies
(Aerial)
Photos
Genome
Human
Animal
Plant
Models
Simulations
Photographs
Paintings 2D 3D

15. Content is King
The information content is more important than the systems used for its storage, management and retrieval
Objects should not be “locked” in specific DLs or archives

16. Types of Digital Collections
Digitization
Converting paper and other media in existing collections to digital form
Acquisition of original digital works
Created by publishers and scholars like electronic books, journals, and datasets
Access to external materials
Like Web sites, other library collections, or publishers' servers

17. Resources
Bibliographic databases that point to both paper and digital materials
Indexes and finding tools
Collections of pointers to Internet resources
Directories
Teaching and pedagogic materials
Photographs
Numerical data sets
E-books and e-journals

18. Creating DLs … Six steps Selecting Acquiring Digitization Organizing
Archiving
Providing Access

19. Process Identification of Books Selection of Books Meta Data Scanning
Image
Processing & QC
OCR
Publishing

23. Digitization
“Conversion of any fixed or analogue media--such as books, journal articles, photos, paintings, microforms--into electronic form through scanning, sampling, or in fact even re-keying.”

24. Digitization Process ….
Determine copyright or restrictions
Digital conversion
Outsource or in house?
Text conversion, formats, headers, compression, and delivery media
Digital capture with camera or scanner ?
File handling
File naming

25. Digitization Process Preparing the objects Scanning
Moving files to temporary storage
Value addition- metadata preparation etc
Long term storage
Derivative image/thumb nail for access copy
Merging files

26. Digital Production Process
Data
Management
Workflow
Management
Content
Management
Project
Management
Quality
Management
Supplier Management

27. Data Management Formats: TEX, PDF,PS Metadata and content data
Workflow
Management
Content
Management
Project
Management
Quality
Management
Supplier Management
Formats: TEX, PDF,PS
Metadata and content data
Structuring (Tagging)
Media neutrality

28. Workflow Management Processing Conversion Automatization
Data
Management
Workflow
Management
Content
Management
Project
Management
Quality
Management
Supplier Management
Processing
Conversion
Automatization
Interfaces - input / output

29. Content Management Style files Information /Object models Archiving
Data
Management
Workflow
Management
Content
Management
Project
Management
Quality
Management
Supplier Management
Style files
Information /Object models
Archiving

30. Quality Management Data consistency Process consistency
Workflow
Management
Content
Management
Project
Management
Quality
Management
Supplier Management
Data consistency
Process consistency
Content consistency

31. Various Workflows Input Processing Output RTF Books TeX
Archive Journals
Normali-zation
Content
Processing
Camera ready
Software

32. OCR: Optical Character Recognition
On the market are many good OCR programs, with prices ranging from Rs to Rs.20,000.
For example, among many others are:
Read-Iris (
Omnipage (
Fine-Reader (

33. Possible Delivery Formats
Pure image formats: TIFF, JPEG
Open encoded formats: XML, HTML, ASCII, and Unicode
Hybrid formats: PDF, DjVu – can contain both image and text
Proprietary formats: Microsoft Word, WordPerfect

34. Good Principles What to digitize? Collection description is important
Selection and policy is important
Collection description is important
such as scope, format, restrictions on access, ownership etc

35. Digitization: Issues Copyright Access copy and archive copy File size
Storage media( CD, Hard disc…)
File format ( TIFF,JPEG…)

36. Challenges in Publishing
Preservation of layout
Searchability of content and metadata
Efficient image compression
Easy browsing of books
Accommodating low bandwidth user
Multilingual text support
Multipaging

37. Digitization .. Factors Collection strengths Unique collections
digitizing selected portions
adding new digital works
Unique collections
only copies of something
Priorities of user communities
Like demands of a curriculum
Manageable portions of collections
what is reasonable for any one institution to collect or digitize
Technical architecture
also be factor in selecting who digitizes what
Skills of staff
whose staff don't have the necessary skills

38. Retrospective Conversion
Complete conversion would be impractical or impossible technically, legally, and economically
Digitization of a particular special collection or a portion of one
which is highly valued
Highlight a diverse collection
High-use materials
Approaches can be objects used alone or in combination depending upon a particular institution's goals

39. Criteria for Selecting Content
Their potential for long-term use
Their intellectual or cultural value
Whether they provide greater access than possible with original materials (e.g., fragile, rare materials)
Whether copyright restrictions or licensing will permit conversion.

40. Metadata
The data that describes the content and attributes of any particular item
Key to resource discovery and use of any document
Facilitate searching and discovery, as well as administrative and structural metadata to assist in object viewing,management, and preservation.

41. Elements of Dublin Core
Title
Creator
Subject and Keywords
Description
Publisher
Contributor
Date
Format
Resource Identifier
Resource Type
Source
Language
Relation
Coverage
Rights Management

42. Barriers
Digital objects are less fixed, easily copied, and remotely accessible by multiple users simultaneously
Libraries mostly are simply caretakers of information, own the copyright of the material with restrictions
To develop mechanisms for managing copyright, mechanisms that allow them to provide information without violating copyright, called rights management

43. Rights Management Usage tracking Identifying and authenticating users
Providing the copyright status of each digital object, and the restrictions on its use or the fees associated with it
Handling transactions with users by allowing only so many copies to be accessed, or by charging them for a copy, or by passing the request on to a publisher

44. Preservation Keeping digital information available in perpetuity
Real issue is technical obsolescence
Like the deterioration of paper in the paper age
Constantly coming up with new technical solutions

45. Three Types of Preservation
Preservation of the storage medium
Preservation of access to content
Preservation of fixed-media materials through digital technology

46. Preservation of the Storage Medium
Tapes, hard drives, and floppy discs have a very short life span
Obsolete anywhere from two to five years before they are replaced by better technology
Possibility of non-availability of the hardware or software to read them
May have to keep moving digital information from storage medium to storage medium

47. Preservation of Access
Access to the content of documents, regardless of their format:
- When the formats (e.g., Adobe Acrobat PDF)
containing the information become obsolete
- Translate data from one format to another for
preserving the ability of users to retrieve and
display the information content
- Data migration is costly
Still no standards for data migration
Distortion or information loss

48. Fixed-media through Digital Technology
Replacement for current preservation media
such as microforms
No common standards for the use of digital media as a preservation medium
It is unclear whether digital media are going handle the task of long-term preservation

49. Digital Libraries Benefits : Individual
Gain access to the holdings of libraries worldwide through automated catalogs. Locate both physical and digitized versions of scholarly articles and books.
Optimize searches, simultaneously search the Internet, commercial databases, and library collections.
Save search results and conduct additional processing to narrow or qualify results.
From search results, click through to access the digitized content or locate additional items of interest.
All of these capabilities are available from the desktop or other Web-enabled device such as a personal digital assistant or cellular telephone.

50. Digital Libraries Benefits : Classroom Projects
Capability to enhance the classroom experience or conduct learning apart from a physical campus
Digital library is a core component of this VLE
Changing the relationships between the library and other parts of the academic enterprise
Integrate authoring, analysis, and distribution tools that facilitate the reuse and repurposing of digital content
Collections and services can be integrated into the institutional, national, and worldwide fabric of research and teaching

51. Digital Library Standards
Common User Interface: Data Handling and Interchange: Graphic Formats – JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, Group 4 Fax, CGM Structured Documents – SGML, HTML, XML Moving Pictures/3-D – MPEG, AVI, GIF89A, QuickTime, Real Video, ViviActive, VRML
Metadata: Resource Description – Dublin Core, WHOIS++ Templates, US-MARC, TEI Headers, Other Open Source and Domain Specific Standards. Resource Identification – URN, PURL, DOI, SICI
Security, Authentication and payment services: Emerging e-Commerce Standards.

52. Indian DL Initiatives: Contents
Books (out of copyright)
Scholarly Journals
Theses
Institutional E-Prints
Manuscripts
Data
News Papers
Metadata Level
Portal and Gateway Services

53. Government, Judicial, Financial, Land Records
Ministry websites include policy and planning documents, annual reports, budget etc.
Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu have made significant headway
Judgments of Supreme Court and High Courts covered

54. Mission: Free access to human knowledge through Portal Objectives:
Digital Library of India at IISc, Bangalore
Mission: Free access to human knowledge through Portal
Objectives:
To capture all books in digital format (1 m by 2005)
Test bed for improved Scanning Techniques,OCR, Indexing
Books, Journals, Palm Leaves
> 1L books in English, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Sanskrit, Urdu
100 Scanners in 16 scanning centres
Plan for 1 m documents by 2005
Science, arts, culture, music, movies, traditional medicine
Will be mirrored at Several location in the world
Collaboration: Universal Library Project, CMU

55. IISc: Other Activities
Vigyan:
Website on Indian S & T
Collaboration with NISSAT/DSIR
Indo-French Cyber University
Initially PG in Applied Mathematics
E-prints at IISC by NCSI (
Online digital repository of IISc research papers
Research papers (preprints, post-prints), book chapters, tech reports,
unpublished findings, conf papers, magazine articles
Set up using e-prints.org open source software
Part of worldwide institutional e-print archives

56. Institutional Repositories
Indian Institute of Science
National Aerospace Laboratories
National Chemical Laboratories
National Institute of Oceanography
ISI – Mathematics
DRTC- LDL
Raman Research Institute
IIM Kozikode

57. Scholarly Science Journals
Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) –11 Journals
Indian National Science Academy – 4 journals
Indian Medlars Centre (IndMed) – 22 journals

58. Vidyanidhi: Dept. Of LIS, Univ. of Mysore
Digital Library and E-Scholarship Portal
Indian Theses Database
Indian ETD Collection
Training Program for improving quality
Supported by DSIR, GOI
Part of global ETD initiative
Support by Ford Foundation and Microsoft
Theses initiatives by others: IITs
Delhi and IIT, Mumbai

59. Multimedia Documentation Kalakalpa (Journal) Papers and Essays
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
Digital Images
Video Recordings
Audio Recordings
Databases
Bibliographies
Multimedia Documentation
Kalakalpa (Journal)
Electronic Books
Papers and Essays
Research Reports
News Letters
Conference Proceedings
Manuscripts in India
In house Articles

60. Mumbai Asiatic Society
Rare Books (as back as 1632)
Manuscripts (Sanskrit, Pali,
Tibetan, Prakrit, Arabic,
Persian,etc.)
Maps, Coins
Buddhist Relics
Book preservation laboratories
Microfilming – Now digitisation

61. National Library, Calcutta
Manuscripts (Work in Progress)
Paper –3000, Palm Leaf-334
Books (<1900, Indian <1920)
6600 Titles, 2.5 M pages, 548 CDs
Bengali Journal (Prabasi)
East India Company Records
Many Diaries
In Bengali
Journal
Orunudoi
Assamese

62. Archives of Indian Labour V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
Heritage of Indian Working Class
Commissions on Labour
Oral History Collections
Trade Union Collections
Regional Collections
Strike Collections

63. India: DL Issues
Objects Identifications: Non-availability, Coordinated efforts
Technology and Infrastructure
Standards: Meta data
Funds
Networking of minds
Multiple languages
Inhibition and Reservations (libraries and heritage materials)
IPR

64. DLI in India: Suggestions
Distributed National Network with Global Access
Institutional digital repositories
Open access science journals
Content based catalogue (metadata)
Portal giving links to various activities
Intensive Training of Librarians, Archeologists,
Curators, etc.
Improve Technology and Infrastructure
Adopt Suitable Standards
Language Tools
Modify IPR to suit Open Archive
Enhancement Capability of Integrated Lib Auto System
to handle DL Features
Compilation of Directory of DL Technologies and Vendors

65. Bibliography on Digital Libraries http://sunsite. berkeley