ITAL Information Technology and Libraries (E-Journal)
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Use of GIS for Presentation of the Map and Pictorial Collection of the National and University Library of Slovenia
No full textThe Map and Pictorial Collection of the National and University Library of Slovenia encompasses map and pictorial documents that are part of the national collection. New technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) provide a novel way to display, access, and research the valuable, interdisciplinary holdings of an institution. This paper discusses a pilot, Web-based application that explores the possibilities of GIS by creating a virtual collection of diverse materials. Spatial data are the basis for this digital archive on which other pictorial elements, such as views and portrait images, are connected by hyperlinks
The International Children’s Digital Library: A Case Study in Designing for a Multilingual, Multicultural, Multigenerational Audience
Get PDFThe challenges encountered in building the InternationalChildren’s Digital Library (ICDL), a freely availableonline library of children’s literature are described. Thesechallenges include selecting and processing books fromdifferent countries, handling and presenting multiplelanguages simultaneously, and addressing cultural differences. Unlike other digital libraries that present content from one or a few languages and cultures, and focuson either adult or child audiences, ICDL must serve amultilingual, multicultural, multigenerational audience.The research is presented as a case study for addressingthese design criteria; current solutions and plans forfuture work are described
The MOSC Project: Using the OAI-PMH to Bridge Metadata Cultural Differences across Museums, Archives, and Libraries
Get PDFThe MetaScholar Initiative of Emory UniversityLibraries, in collaboration with the Center for the Studyof Southern Culture, the Atlanta History Center, and theGeorgia Music Hall of Fame, received an Institute ofMuseum and Library Services grant to develop a newmodel for library-museum-archives collaboration. Thiscollaboration will broaden access to resources for learningcommunities through the use of the Open ArchivesInitiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAIPMH). The project, titled Music of Social Change(MOSC), will use OAI-PMH as a tool to bridge thewidely varying metadata standards and practices acrossmuseums, archives, and libraries. This paper will focusspecifically on the unique advantages of the use of OAIPMH to concurrently maximize the exposure of metadataemergent from varying metadata cultures
Building Digital Heritage with Teamwork Empowerment
No full textBuilding digital heritage requires substantial resources in materials, expertise, tools, and cost. Government and university projects are limited in the time and space they can devote to covering even a small part of the world’s heritage. The preservation coverage problem is most serious in areas where sources of intellectual and cultural heritage may diminish or disappear over time. A central notion that helps resolve these issues is to make it easier for digital technology to reach sources of valuable heritage. The authors propose an approach to exploit noninstitutional resources for wider participation and inclusion in digital-heritage endeavors. The approach attempts to copy the techniques of institutional digital-heritage work while bringing together noninstitutional resources and providing standard practice
What Is Usability in the Context of the Digital Library and How Can It Be Measured
No full textThis paper reviews how usability has been defined in the context of the digital library, what methods have been applied and their applicability, and proposes an evaluation model and a suite of instruments for evaluating usability for academic digital libraries. The model examines effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and learnability. It is found that there exists an interlocking relationship among effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. It also examines how learnability interacts with these three attributes
Design Considerations for Multilingual Web Sites
No full textThe most powerful marketing, service, and information-distribution tool a library has today is its Web site, but providing Web content in many languages is complex. Before allocating scarce technical and financial resources, it is valuable to learn about writing systems, types of writing, how computers render and represent writing systems, and to study potential problem areas and their possible solutions. The accepted Web standard for presenting languages is Unicode and a full understanding of its history and the coding tools it provides is essential to making appropriate decisions for specific multilingual and internationalization projects. Actual coding examples, as well as a sampling of existing multilingual library services, also serve to illuminate the path of implementation
From the Great Smokies to the Mountains of the Moon: U.S. and Ugandan Librarians Collaborate in a Digital World
No full textScholarship and learning are truly global endeavors, and rightly so given the challenges of the twenty-first century. Higher education is increasingly at the forefront of these endeavors, pursuing international initiatives in support of teaching, research, and learning. Academic libraries throughout the world embrace this imperative for international understanding in today’s turbulent environment. The University of Tennessee Libraries acted on the imperative through a very personal and direct collaboration with the Makerere University Libraries in Kampala, Uganda. This article describes how two different universities, seemingly worlds apart, forged an enduring, exceptional, and mutually beneficial partnership through a focus on information technology
Crosswalking EAD: Collaboration in Archival Description
No full textDifferent library departments must work together, both formally and informally, in implementing encoded archival description and in repackaging descriptive information about archival collections to other formats, particularly machine-readable cataloging. The authors, one a technical services librarian and the other a special collections archivist, describe their experiences collaborating in these processes at The Ohio State University. Although other institutions may differ in their organizational structure, the authors hope to provide technical guidance, as well as a model of collaboration between archivists and technical services personnel. Careful dialogue and planning are essential to transcend the traditional divide between archival and library descriptive practices and systems