Design and Implement of Digital Library: An Overview
Kiran P Savanur Nagaraj M N
kiransavanur@;rediffmaif.com nagarai@m.res.in
Raman Research Institute Raman Research Institute
Bangalore-560080 Bangalore-560080
1. INTRODUCTION
Several terms have been coined at different times to represent the concept of
library without books, Libraries having influence on computer readable format or
having access to influence on digitized or digital format. The terms which have been
in vague at different times include: Paperless library, electronic library, virtual
library, libraries without boundaries and now it has been moved to digital libraries.
The tenn digital library on one hand, is used to refer to a system or application whose
functions are chiefly to extend electronic access to material available in a
conventional library to a remote user. On the other hand, it is used to describe both
commercial and academic systems designed to enable electronic access to a large
collection of electronic documents to authorized users.
The term's digital library and electronic library are used interchangeably and
synonymously. The term "virtual library" or "library without walls" usually refers to
the meta resources, subject portals that extend virtual accessibility of digital
collections from several diverse sources without the users even knowing where the
resource actually resides. A virtual library wuld potentially be enormous, linking
huge collections from all around the globe, or it could be very small, consisting of
few hundred links to digital resources maintained by an individual.
The hvbrid librarv is in the continuum between the conventional and dieital
libraries where electronic and paper-based information sources are used alongside
-
each other. The challenges associated with the management of the hybrid library is to
encourage end-user to provide information in variety of formats and from a number
of local and remote sources in a searnlessly integrated way. The hybrid library aims
to bring a range of technologies from different sources together in the context of a
working library. In effect a hybrid library maintains all or its major parts of its
collection in a digitize form as an alternative to supplement the print material
currently found in Libraries. It has a web-enabled computerized catalogue
(WEBPAC) accessible through the Internet and most of the in-house services like
acquisition, books processing circulation are computerized. A hybrid library has a
strong presence in the internet with a home page for the library providing an
integrated access interface, not only to digital collections available locally, but also to
the other commercial and non-commercial web-based digitized collections across the
world.
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF DIGITAL LIBRARY
The term digital library may mean different things to different people, but it is not
merely a collection of electronic information. It is an organized system of digital
information that can serve as a rich resource for its user community.
A digital library emphases the equitable and timely access to a vast amount of
diverse resources in a shared mode in a given specialty, lifting traditional barriers of
time and space.
Digital libraries may have the following characteristics associated with them
1. Digital Libraries are the digital counterparts of traditional libraries and include
both electronic
(digital) as well as print and other (e.g. audio, video, graphics, animation etc)
materials.
2. A digital library owns and controls the information. It provides access to
information, not just
pointers to it
3. A digital library has a unified organizational structure with consistent points for
accessing the
data.
4. A digital library is not single entity, it may also provide access to digital material
and resources
from outside the actual confines of any one digital library.
5. Digital libraries support quick and efficient access to a large number of
distributed but inter linked
Information sources that are seamlessly integrated.
6. Digital libraries have collections that ( I ) are large and persist over time; ( ii ) are
well organized
and managed; ( iii ) contain many formats ( iv) contain objects and not just their
representation; (v) contain objects that may be otherwise unobtainable.
7. Digital libraries include all the processes and services offered by traditional
libraries, though
these processes will have to be revised to accommodate differences between
digital and paper media
3. WHY DIGITAL LIBRARIES?
With the advent of the below technologies have forced traditional libraries to go
for Digital Library and also these forms the basic requirement of Digital Library.
1. Emergence of Internet and web technologies as a media of information delivery
and access. The Internet, particularly the World Wide Web (www), allows rapid
access to a wide variety of networked information resources extending a uniform
interface to a vast number of multimedia resources. The web, being a hypermedia-
based system, allows linking amongst electronic resources.
2. Availability of highly evolved, extraordinarily simple and intuitive user interface,
e.g.. Internet
Explorer and Netscape Navigator for all prevalent platforms
4. Advances in online storage technologies enabling storage of large amounts of
contents at increasingly affordable cost
The digital libraries offer significant and unparalleled improvement and value
addition to library services. While providing workable solutions to problems
traditionally associated with the management of print based collections in traditional
libraries, improved information retrieval and enhanced document delivery capability
is widely accepted. The cost of creating, storing manipulating and transmitting digital
information has decreased considerably providing necessary urge to the digital library
initiates worldwide. Rise in acquisition and subscription fees have forced the libraries
to find other means to make information available to their users and content
aggregators and electronic publishers are providing the means to do so.
Several large-scale digitization projects are aimed at conserving and preserving
old, fragile and deteriorating documents of high scholarly value and further it
provides increased access and search possibilities. Digital libraries enable greater
access to digital contents can be managed from remote locations and provide a way to
enrich teaching and learning environment. Since information in the digital library is
electronically stored and accessed it is not bound to space and time. Digital library
systems can be accessed simultaneously by multiple users guaranteeing continuous
availability of documents. Digital library implementation can dramatically reduce
floor space requirements as compare to conventional shelf - type storage of books
and journals.
4. COMPONENTS OF DIGITAL LIBRARY
Digital Library consists of
1. User Interfaces or user
2. Storage Media or (Repository)
3. Identifiers
User Interfaces or user
A standard intemet browser is used for the actual interactions with the user .
This can be Netscape Navigator or Microsoft internet explore. Through the browser
user connects to client server
(Repository) URL with TCP technology.
Storage media (Repository) and Identifiers
Stores and manage digital objects and other information. The interface for this
is called Repository access protocol (RAP). These Repository will have Identifiers
with the help of identifiers users can identify internet resources such as digital
objects. In other words identifiers shows the identifier of the repository where the
objects are stored.
Repository consists
1. Data
2. Metadata
3. Meta -object
Data
The things which are digitized fiom the data. The materials selected may
include Image text, Audio and video. This material need to be acquired and process is
called data acquisition this can be done by scanner and digital cameras. The place
where all the digitized objects are stored is called repository.
Matadata
Matadata is the data about data that describe the content and attributes of any
particular item in a digital library. Metadata describes the items that are digitized.
Metadata is important for digital libraries because it is the key to resources. An
example of matadata is traditional card record of a book. Each digitized item will
have metadata . For the creation of metadata MARC Or Dublin core Format is used.
Some of the Dublin core elements are Title, subject, description , source, language,
relation, coverage, publisher and creator. Normally metadata are created using HTML
or XML
Meta -object
The repository may have plenty of digital objects in the form of data each of
this data will be explained used metadata. The meta-object provides references to the
set of
Digital objects.
5. GREENSTONE DIGITAL LIBRARY SOITWARE (GSDL)
The Concept of Digital library can be better understood with the help of
Digital Library Architecture. Some of the Digital Library Architecture are:
Architecture of California Digital Library (CDL)
Architecture of Green stone digital Library (GSDL)
Harvest
Architecture of NCSTRL (Networked computer science report Library)
University of Waikato in collaboration with UNESCO and the Human
Libraries Project to provide information to the developed world developed GSDL.
Through HTML browser like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet
explore user Can send HTTP requests and receives HTTP response. The GSDL
retrieves requested information and generates HTML page that contains the
information required by user. With the help of Green Stone we can customize the
page according to the need of the user. It has a Graphic editor, which can configure
files.
Steps involved in GSDL
1. Building collection using GSDL
2. Assigning Metadata to the digital documents of a collection using Dublin core in
XML
3. The collection configuration
4. Creating user defined indexes or search index
5. Finding information.
6. DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL LIBRARIES
Some of the important points to be considered in developing a digital library are
1. Digital collection or material selection
2. Conversion of existing Print, Audio and video into digital format.
3. Cataloguing or Metadata creation
4. Storing
5. Creating portals or gateway to the electronic collection available on the web
6. Integrated access interface.
Digital Collection
One of the important issues in the creation of a digital library is the building
up of a digital collection. A digital library can have a wide range of resources. It can
obtain both conventional documents and /or digital or computer processible form.
The conversion of digital form is just to ensure better access and to reduce
dependence on physical libraries.
The new digital resources are either deliberately created as digital or created
in parallel to print. Publishers are increasingly moving to XML or SGML format.
Future digital libraries resources are electronic journals, electronic books through
databases and datasets in many formats.
The acquisitions of documents, which are already available in digital formats,
like CD-ROM database is a part of the transition . Nowadays a large number of
information products are available on CD-ROM, like MEDLINE, COMPENDEX,
METADEX, LISA etc. Libraries can subscribe to any of these database for providing
bibliographic or full text information forms an important input to the digital
collection.
Access to external digital collection
Digital libraries can acquire permission to digital collections provided by
external sources like other institutions, commercial publishers, resources of other
libraries, and electronic journals through on-line access. Many of the commercial
publishers like Elsevier, Academic press, ACM, SIAM are making their journals
available on-line through web sites. Many of the journals are available in print and as
well as in electronic form.
Conversion of existing Print, Audio and Video into digital format
Nowadays, a part of conventional collection of a library is being converted
into digital form. The process of conversion of paper documents into digital format is
mainly with the help of scanners. Printed text, pictures and figures are transformed
into computer accessible forms using a digital scanner or a digital camera.
Scanners are mostly using for converting print resources into digital format.
Most scanning software generate by default TIFF (Tagged Image File Format). The
scanned textual images (TIF) are not searchable nor can be manipulated like text file
document (ASCII). The scanned TIF format are converted to text by the process of
Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The OCR software allows the option of
maintaining text and graphics in their original layout as well as plain ASCII and word
processing formats. Through OCR software we can save the file into html, doc and
other formats. The images can be browsed through a table of contents composed in
HTML providing linked to scanned images.
The important step involved in the process of digitization is scanning, as
explained above with the help of scanners. Some of the important scanners being
used for capturing digital images are
(a) Minolta PS 7000
(b) HP scanjet 6,300 C,
(c) Bell and Howell 1000 FB,
(d) Kodak 500s
(e) Digital camera - Zentschel omini scan 3000 Minolta PS 3000,
(9 Slide scanner - Kodak PCD Scanner 4045
(g) Microfilm scanner - Mekel M 500 XL sunrise SRI - 150
Some of the image scanning software are
Quick Scan Altris software Power office
OPTM Documentum Came's Omni page
File net Java system ABBW
Finereader
Storing
Digital resources can be stored in CD, DVD, Tape and Hard disk. Usually the
things to be digitize will be in Image, Text, Audio and Video. The Text, Image and
Photographs after scanning is stored in the in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts
Groups) and GIF( Graphics Interchange Format). These two formats are widely used
for storage Images because they are small, fast and capable of displaying any type of
picture. Audio files can be saved in .wav, .mp3, midi etc format. Recently developed
MP3 format is very compact and takes less space while quality of audio is also better
compared to other formats. The digitized Vidw files are saved in .mov or .avi, divx,
mpeg file formats.
Access to digital information availability on web
The web provides the hyper media based systems that allow rapid access to a
wide variety of networked information resources. One can browse the different web
sites which are scattered gwgraphically and have access to the major resources from
which one can download the information. Some of the major portal sites or gateways
that provide access to electronic resources are
So digital libraries can develop their collection through the integration of a
number of resources and media types. Digital libraries can also provide access to
electronic resources through library home pages
7. DIGITAL LIBRARIES AND ITS USES
The important functions and uses of the digital library in the context of users
are that it
1. Provides access to a very large information collection in a digital form
2. Supports multimedia content
3. Is network accessible
4. Provides a 6iendly interface
5. Offers links to local/extemal objects
6. Supports advanced search and retrieval
7. Supports the traditional library mission of collection, development, organization,
access to presentation
8. Supports publishing, annotation of new information
9. Brings together people with formal, informal and professional learning missions
10. Provides faster access to information resources
11. Provides an easy mechanism for resource sharing with other libraries sharing of
digital files in much easier.
8. MAJOR ISSUES / CHALLENGES
Creating effective digital libraries poses serious challenges. Some of the
serious issues facing the development of digital libraries are
8.1 Technical architecture
Libraries need to enhance and upgrade current technical architecture such as
High speed local network and fast connection to internet
Relational database that supports a variety of digital formats
Full text search engines to index and provide access to resources
A variety of servers such as web servers and FTP servers
Electronic management system
8.2 Building digital collections
One of the most important issues in creating a digital library is building of
digital collections.
One of the major issues is the degree to which libraries will digitize existing material
and acquire original digital works. This is the old access versus ownership issue.
How is the specific material to be digitized to be acquired or identified by a given
library. Who collects and lor digitizes which material could be based on factors such
as collection strength, unique wllections, the priorities of user groups, manageable
portions of collection, technological resources and skills of the staff.
8.3. Digitization
Another aspect is what portion of collection to digitize. Digitization is
conversion of any fixed or analogue media - such as books, journal articles, photos,
paintings, microfilms into electronic form either through scanning or networking
The approaches are
Retrospective conversion of collections
Digitization of a particular special collection or a portion of it
Highlight a diverse collection
Highly used materials
An ad hoc approach ( one digitizes and stores material as they are requested )
There is the problem of naming identifiers and persistence. Naming is required to
identify digital objects. Any system of naming should be permanent, lasting. The
names cannot be bound with specific location. A global scheme of unique identifier is
required. Three schemes proposed to get over the problems of persistent naming are
PURLS, URNs, and digital object identifiers.
PURLS - These are persistent URLs, a scheme developed by OCLE to separate
document name from its location
URNs - Uniform Resource Name have been developed by Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF)
Digital Object Identifier P O I ) - Developed by association of American Publishers
and corporation for National Research Initiatives to provide a method by which a
digital object can be reliably identified and accessed
8.4. Copyright : Copyright is one of the most important barriers to digital library
development. For
current works, copyright breaks down in the digital environment because the control
of
copies is lost. Digital objects are less fixed, easily copied and remotely accessible to
multiple users
simultaneously. The problem of libraries are that they are for the most part simply
caretakers of
information . They do not own the copyright of the material they hold . So libraries
will never be
able to freely digitize and provide access to the copyrighted material in their
collection. They have
to develop a mechanism for managing copyright
8.5. Preservation : Another important issue is preservation. In the preservation of
digital material, the real issue is technical obsolescence. Preservation of the storage
medium tapes, hard drives, floppy
discs have a short life span when considered in terms of obsolescence. This form of
preservation involves preserving access to the content of the document regardless of
the format. While files can be moved from one storage medium to another.
9. CONCLUSION
Due to rise in acquisition and subscription fees, libraries have forced to find
other means to make information available to their users. Since cost of creating
storing, manipulating and transmitting digital information has decreased considerably
providing necessary urge for the creation of digital library initiates worldwide.
Digitization is the first step in building digital libraries. Besides digitization of
documents achieves the purpose of preservation for the future generations and also
supports the traditional library mission of collection development, organization, and
access to presentation. Digital documents facilitate search and retrieval and can easily
accessible world wide once they are made available on the Internet. It should be
noted that digitization task time consuming and involves high quality acquisition of
hardware, software and also manpower.
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