Digital Library Initiative Phase II Online Dictionary
The Digital Library Initiative Phase II online dictionary of computing
terms. This site defines a number of terms that are
useful when studying digital libraries. Unfortunately, the site is not
limited to only terms relevant to digital libraries and requires a great deal
of scrolling.
Glossary
A glossary of terms relating to Digital Libraries from a book of the
same name by William Ames. This site is very
helpful in that explains the terms as they related to digital libraries
specifically. Not easily searchable and it
one long page that the user must scroll through.
Digital Library Initiative Phase II
The second phase of the Digital Library Initiative launched by the National
Science Foundation in 1993. DLI-2 is co-sponsored by NSF, NEH,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Defense Research Projects
Agency (DARPA), National Library of Medicine, Library of Congress
and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The focus of this initiative is
sustaining digital information over time. This site has a good overview of
projects funded by the initiative. However, it lacks basic informaion on the
initiative itself.
Digital Library Task Force
This is the page for the Digital Library Task Force set up by the
IEEE. Very interesting overview of the challenges peculiar to digital
and the responses to those issues. A downside is that it has not been updated
recently.
Digital Library Federation
The Digital Library Federation operates under the umbrella of the
Council on Library and Information Resources.
The (DLF) is a consortium of libraries and related agencies, which among other
activities, identifies standards and best
practices for digital libraries. These practices are listed on the site, along
with other useful information.
Center for the Study of Digital Libraries
The Center for the Study of Digital Libraries- U of T Austin was
established in 1995. It conducts research
on the theory and application of digital libraries and to creates new
technologies for their use. The site contains useful
on the centers activities. However, the layout is uninspired and the content is
not very current.
University of Arizona- Artificial Intelligence Lab
The stated goal of the Artifical Intelligence lab at the University
of Arizona is "To develop techniques
to enhance information retrieval and knowledge management of large digital
collections. This is an excellent site
that features demos and and excellent design.
CANIS
CANIS is a research lab at the University of Illinois. It is
concerned with designing and implementing new
models for the Internet of the future. Part of this vision of the future
includes digital libraries. The site contains
some good information on digital library research. However, this information is
not easy to find and the site is poorly
designed, making it hard to follow the links.
European Preservation Information Centre
European Preservation Information Centre established in 1994 strives
to keep collections in European archives
and libraries accessible. It is especially focused on issues of preservation and
obsolescence as relates to digital collections
The information on their activities and preservation projects is very
interesting. The information on digital initiatives is
somewhat lacking.
SunSITE
The Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE builds digital collections while at the
same time providing support to other digital
library developers around the world. This site allows access to a number of
interesting online collections and also has links
to features such as "tools for building a digital library." While this site is
very comprehensive, some links were broken
and the design was such that the presence of these features wasn't readily
apparent.
ARL Digital Initiatives Database
The ARL Digital Initiatives Database is is a web-based registry
for descriptions of digital initiatives in or involving libraries. This site
includes, not only a thorough list of initiatives but a form that allows one to
register a project with the database. Very interesting to browse with a lot of
additional information.
Project Gutenberg
The oldest producer of free online ebooks. The current collection of over 10,000
books is the product of a massive volunteer effort. A great place to get free access to works
in the public domain.
www.abacci.com
This database combines the ethos of Project Gutenberg the reviews feature
Amazon.com in order to provide "annotated" access to free literature on the web. Many titles are
available and the familiar "Amazonian" interface makes it easy to use. Unfortunately,
like Project Gutenberg,one must download an entire work before being able to access it.
www.bartleby.com
This site provides free, unlimited access to "great books" online.
The site includes fiction, non-fiction, verse, and reference work. Easy to navigate
and search, but with a limited number of titles.
Emory University
Emory University's homepage for it's three year project to develop
a blueprint for a prototype digital library. It has a nice section on other
resources. However, this project was been over for sometime and the site isn't
terribly current.
American Memory Project
The American Memory Project is a Library of Congress undertaking. With over
7 million digital items in 100 separate collections it is a portal into the cultural
history of the US. The site is very well designed and extremely interesting.
One could while away a good chunk of time browsing this site.
National Library of Canada
The National Library of Canada Electronic Collection contains
Canadian books and periodicals published online. The site is very comprehensive and
has a nubmer of good features, including tips on archiving an online publication
and a guide to citing online references. Overall, a very good site.
National Science Digital Library
The National Science Digital Library bills itself as a digital
library of exemplary resource collections and services, organized in support
of science education at all levels. An excellent site, the NSDL considers itself an
innovator in the realm of digital libraries. There are a number of excellent collections
and the site is easy to navigate. The only recommendation I would make is that the site
could be a bit more dynamic.
Stanford Digital Library Project
Standford's Digital Library Project is part of the DLI2. The Stanford compontent
focuses on base technologies required to overcome the barriers to effective digital libraries.
This site is very dry and almost causes the user to suffer from information overload. However,
the information included in the site is relevant and current.
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www.academicinfo.net
This database of resources is part of the University of Phoenix- the
online university. This site features subject-specific digital libraries. The list of
subjects is exhaustive and the featured links are excellent. Sadly, there are a number of
broken links, but the active ones are still plentiful.
International Children's Digital Library
THis database of international Children's books was created with
from children. The interface, therefore, is highly unusual: pay particular attention
the different types of readers available. Easy to navigate and thought-provoking (how does
searching behavior vary between adults and children?) However, it is not an ideal search method
for an expert user and the enhanced viewing option can be slow.
D-LIB Ready Reference
An excellent list of resources from the D-Lib magazine site. The Clearinghouse
section is very useful. As are the subject gateways, albeit not organized very well.
It would be more useful if this information were presented in a way that made it more
accessible to the user.
Digital Library Federation Newsletter
The Digital Library Federation Newsletter is available online and also
features web-searchable databases of policies, strategies, working papers, etc.
Also available on the site is a searchable database of members' public-domain digital collections.
The newsletter is very easy to access but the databases are not as current as they could be.
Howard Besser
THis site is list of publications by Howard Besser, a professor at UCLA,
specializing in digital libraries. There are some good suggestions for further reading
on the topic. However, one must wade through some unrelated material, and there are no hotlinks.
International Journal on Digital Libraries
A link to the International Journal on Digital Libraries. Not many full text items are
and other information on the journal is sparse.
IFLA
This International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions resource page
contains a number of useful links to various projects and organizations.
Digital Challenges at the LOC
This news item maintains that the Library of Congress must do
a better job handling
digital information. This is an interesting piece outlining the
challenges facing the LOC.
It has helpful links to other information.
CLIR Press Release
This recent press release announces that the British Library
has joined the DLF
as its first Strategic Partner from outside the United States.Nice
section on the
British Library holdings and a hotlink to more information.
US/UK Cooperation
Another item on US/UK cooperation. This time between the
JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) and the
US National Science Foundation (NSF). A good outline of the project,
but links to more information
would have been appreciated.
Digital Libraries and Society
This announcement links to Derek Law's presentation on the
Social Role of Digital Libraries. Law is the Librarian
and Head of the University of Strathclyde's Information Resources
Directorate. An interesting discussion of the place
of digital libraries in society.