Digital library collections
Libraries
are about many things. But, collections have always been at the heart of libraries,
be they digital, traditional brick and mortar, or hybrid between the two. Moreover,
collections will retain that role in the future as well. However, the concept
of what constitutes a collection in the networked environment of digital
libraries is undergoing a transformation from the age-old concept of library
collection signified by ownership. A new concept of a digital collection is
evolving incorporating adaptations of many old features and standards, and creation
of many brand new ones. This conceptual and pragmatic evolution is far from
over. What are digital library collections? The question looms as a large
problem for practice and for research and development.
Furthermore,
the concepts and processes of collection development and collection
management are undergoing a transformation as well. This is due to the
effect of great many and diverse digital resources and tools that can be used
in collection development and that are generally and easily available through
the Internet. New processes and tools for collection development has emerged,
used for development and management of both, traditional and digital
collections. In addition, the process of collection management became more
closely connected than ever with means, ways, and policies for access,
adding an additional dimension.
But digital
collections also present distinct and serious challenges related to preservation
and archiving. Many libraries and other institutions worldwide are concerned
with these issues. Libraries started including digital preservation as a vital
part of collection management. A number of national and international bodies
are developing standards, tools, and practices related to preservation.
Here is
an assortment of sites, directories, and articles related to collections in
digital libraries, covering collection development and management, including
preservation, in the digital age.
Sites dealing with
digital collections
Arizona Department of Library,
Archives and Public Records.(1999). Collection Development Training.
http://www.dlapr.lib.az.us/cdt/intro.htm
"CDT is
designed for librarians and other library staff who are new to collection
development or who need to brush up on a particular aspect of collection development."
A tutorial most suitable for collection development in small public libraries,
but with many good pointers in general.
Arts and Humanities Data Service
(2002). Managing Digital Collections.
http://ahds.ac.uk/public.htm
A series
of well constructed and thought out reports on managing digital collections
by AHDS, but generalizable to other institutions. Includes policies, standards
and guides to good practice adopted for digital collections; studies of preservation
management of digital materials; and more.
Columbia University Libraries.
(2000). Collection development policies. Digital libraries.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/colldev/
General
collection development policies in many subjects. Leads to a seventeen point
policy for digital materials, connected to general collection policies, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/colldev/digital-library.html.
Cornell University. (2000).
Digital imaging tutorial. Selection policies. http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/selection/selection-03.html
Part of
a tutorial on digital imaging for libraries and archives. Provides selection
criteria, links to other institutional sites dealing with selection policies
for digital images, and related materials.
Cornell University. Cornell
Institute for Digital Collections
http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/about/index.htm
or direct http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/
“The
Cornell Institute for Digital Collections (CIDC) is a cross-disciplinary team
established to explore the use of emerging technologies for providing greater
access to cultural and scientific collections." Incorporates digitizing guidelines
and a number of collections, particularly historical in nature. Started project
Harvest with the goal of setting up a pilot archive for scholarly journals
and plans for preservation of Web collections. A number of interesting publications
and lectures. A digital imaging tutorial (mentioned above) at http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/
Hofman, P. & Worsfold,
E. (1997). Selection criteria for quality controlled information gateways.
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/desire/quality/
"A comprehensive
list of selection criteria is given, which incorporates 'tips' and 'hints'
for evaluating Internet resources." Useful for deriving criteria for digital
collections in general.
Indiana University Bloomington
Libraries. (2000). Acquisitions, cataloging, and collection development policies
for electronic resources. http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/policies/e-policies.html
Contains
policies for Indiana and some other universities. Links to bibliographies
and other useful sites.
Okerson, A. (1999). Electronic
Collections Development. Yale University Libraries. http://www.library.yale.edu/~okerson/ecd.html
"This
pages collects links to policy documents from research libraries regarding
the development of collections in an environment increasingly marked by the
challenge of electronic resources." Includes links and description to over
30 sites dealing with collection development.
University of California, Berkeley
Libraries. (2001). Digital Library SunSITE Collection and Preservation Policy.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Admin/collection.html
Brief
and to the point collection and preservation policies of the Berkeley Libraries,
with links to general documents covering principles.
University of Pennsylvania
Library (1999). Collection Development Policy: Digital Information Resources.
http://www.library.upenn.edu/services/collections/policies/diginfot.html
"This
policy covers networked academic digital information resources purchased or
leased by the Library." Includes selection criteria.
Vanderbilt University Library.
(2001). AcqWeb http://acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/
"The gathering
place for librarians and other professionals interested in acquisitions and
collection development." Probably the most elaborate site related to collections
and collection development. Among others, includes a comprehensive directory
of publishers, verification tools, journals, and links to directories of educational
institutions in library and information science. A mother lode!
Yale University Library. (2001).
Liblicense. Licensing digital information. A resource for librarians.
http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/index.shtml
Numerous
resources of use in understanding and applying licensing of digital materials.
Includes "Analysis of licensing agreements for digital information" and a
number of other features, such as downloadable licensing software. Probably,
the most comprehensive and practical site on the subject.
Yochelson, A. et al. (2000).
Collection development and the Internet: A brief handbook for recommending
officers in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division at the Library of Congress.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/acq/colldev/handbook.html
" The
intent of this handbook is to provide practical guidance in using the Internet
to extend the techniques we have traditionally used in the area of collection
development." An excellent source with commentary, recomendations, description
and links to: Academic and library-related listservs; collection development
sites; review sources; publishers, vendors, and bookstores; online catalogs;
literature surveys, and more.
Articles, reports:
Ayris, P. (1998). Guidance
for selecting materials for digitisation. Available:
http://www.rlg.org/preserv/joint/ayris.html
Some
basic considerations, including a decision table, for selection for digitalization
from the U.K. perspective.
Branin, J, Groen, F. &
Thorin, S. (2002). The changing nature of collection management in research
libraries. Association for Research Libraries. Available: http://www.arl.org/collect/changing.html
An exhaustive
report derived from discussions on collection management at the Association
for Research Libraries; includes a historical perspective, and assessment
of current forces shaping the management of collections.
Council on Library and Information
Resources. (2002). The State of Digital Preservation: An International Perspective.Conference
Proceedings. http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub107/contents.html
Papers from
a conference held in April 2002. Includes presentations from leading authors
and projects on the topic from several countries. Reflects current thinking
and efforts.
Greenstein, D. (2000). Strategies
for developing sustainable and scaleable digital
library collections. Digital Library Federation. Available:
http://www.clir.org/diglib/collections/collstratpv.htm
First
in an envisioned series of commissioned titles by the Digital library Federation
"initiative that aims to assemble, review and document practices adopted by
libraries in developing their digital collections."
Lagoze, C. & Fielding,
D. (1998). Defining Collections in Distributed Digital Libraries. D-Lib Magazine.
Available: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november98/lagoze/11lagoze.html
"In this
paper, we describe a design for a digital library collection service. The
collection service is an independent mechanism for introducing structure into
a distributed information space."
Research Libraries Group.
(2002). Long-term Retention of Digital Research Material.
http://www.rlg.org/longterm/index.html
"RLG's
initiative is developing a digital repository model and supporting tools
that are tuned to the needs of our members and their remarkable collections."
In line with this goal, presented are a number of reports, links to other
initiatives, metadata efforts, and preservation. A good general source.
Smith, A. (1999) Why
Digitize? Digital Library Federation. Publication 80. Available: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub80-smith/pub80.html
"This paper
was written in response to discussions of digitization at meetings of the National
Humanities Alliance (NHA). NHA asked CLIR to evaluate the experiences of cultural
institutions with digitization projects to date and to summarize what has been
learned about the advantages and disadvantages of digitizing culturally significant
materials."
