What are digital libraries?

[jawalsh]

After reading and watching this week’s materials, address the following prompts:

• What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
• Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
• Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
• Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

You are encouraged to read and respond to other discussion posts. Engaging with other students in our online discussions will contribute to your participation grade.

[rachknig]

• According to Witten et al., a digital library is not just a library which has been digitized, but a "focused collection of digital objects" along with methods for accessing, organizing, and maintaining the collection (page 7).
• I see Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/) as an example that conforms to this definition. This library curates public domain eBooks and makes them available for free. It exists entirely digitally, with people dedicated to maintaining and adding to the collection each year as new items enter public domain, and the collection has a clear focus.
• Digital libraries do not exist in a vacuum. They stem from a strong history of information curation and collecting, so it is important to discuss older libraries and technologies while discussing modern digital libraries.
• I found it interesting how Witten et al. touched on the contrast between Alexandrian principle of collecting as much as possible and many modern libraries choosing to weed significant portions of their collections for varying reasons. In a library I volunteered at six years ago, two-thirds of the print collection was weeded out and recycled to make space for new seating and a Mac lab. That was the first time I'd ever witnessed a major weeding project, and it horrified me at the time, but over the years since I've realized that there can be benefits to removing outdated and rarely used materials to make room for growth. However, one major concern can be preservation of information - if something is removed from the physical collection, is there another way for patrons to access it? If physical space is the issue, digitizing materials and making them available on a digital library like the Internet Archive could be a good opportunity, but that runs the risk of violating copyright law for many materials.

[WayneHastings]

Weeding is such a huge problem for so many libraries. The public library has similar issues! I feel like IU Libraries using off campus storage has been a great solution. The ALF building is incredible and their services are great. They have only had one late delivery since their opening.

[rachknig]

I currently work as an assistant manager for RPS Libraries on campus, and those libraries are more similar to public libraries than academic libraries. We have to weed every so often due to limited shelf space, and it's always a careful process of determining which items should remain and which can be removed from the stacks.

[JohaknigIU]

I feel like eventually weeding in digital libraries will become a common practice as well if not already in place, since increasing digital collections can require huge storage and server spaces that some digital libraries just don't have the funding for.

[alamorri]

That was an excellent point about space constraints. Not even the Library of Congress keeps a copy of every book sent to them for copyright deposit.

[WayneHastings]

1. Witten, et al. begins their definition by providing examples of the various functions of digital libraries. They are able to store vast amounts of information with less cost, disseminate information quicker, effectively preserve cultural traditions, and allow users to retrieve information easier than ever. Ultimately, digital libraries give “equal weight to user (access and retrieval) and librarian (selection, organization, and maintenance)” (7).

2. The Indiana Historical Society’s digital collection (https://indianahistory.org/research/research-materials/) is both extremely user and librarian friendly. Accessible through the webpage, users are easily guided to the Historical Society’s research materials where they will find links to their book catalog, collection guides, and digital collections. The digital collections gives users instant access to photographs of significant cultural events, postcards of forgotten buildings, early Indiana maps, rare artwork, and more. These items are organized into separate collections based on subject matter, such as the Bethel AME Church Collection, Covered Bridges Collection, or the Indiana State Prison Album. If a librarian were to click on an item from a collection, they would be given access to the item’s description, ID number, accession number, subject headings, and size. This makes it extremely easy for future items to be added to a collection and for previous items to be found and identified.

3. Witten, et al. portrays how retrieval, distribution, and collection of information has dramatically changed. For centuries, the purpose of libraries was to grow their collection for a small portion of the population. The rapid growth of published materials due to the Gutenberg press and later the steam press, encouraged librarians to create focused collections that were accessible to more people. This notion influences libraries today in how they create services that most people can use for a defined subject.

4. The fact that many developing countries “skip a step” in establishing their digital libraries was fascinating. I never thought of how physical libraries are likely more expensive to construct because of the physical space and copies of materials needed. Although network connection still poses an obstacle, digital libraries are more effective in allowing access to a large range of published materials for a cheaper cost. Will physical book copies be considered a luxury in the near future as more material is digitized? The quote stating that physical copies of books would have been deemed a great invention if they were created after digital books was a great shower thought.

[rachknig]

It can be quite interesting to delve into the various situations that lead to the creation of physical libraries vs. digital libraries. I personally hope that physical materials will stick around, but it is very possible that they will increase in rarity as digital materials become more and more accessible to patrons.

[Kschu97]

I also found the quote regarding 'books being a great invention if they were created after digital libraries' good food for thought. I appreaciate how you phrase developing countries' creation of digital libraries as skipping a step as digital collections are often one of the resources provided by a 'physical' library for their patrons. Having a local library that is digital only would probably mess with the mental image of a library in many peoples' minds when they first hear of it.

[alamorri]

Relating to hard copies possibly becoming a luxury in the future, perhaps all physical publishing might shift to "print on demand."

[KatMEdom]

1. Witten, et al. defines digital libraries as “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection.”

2. I would argue that IMSLP (International Music Score Library Project) could be considered a digital library. IMSLP is an online database that provides access to sheet music and recordings that are in the public domain. It is an international database, which makes navigating copyright laws a bit of a challenge. Admittedly, it probably doesn’t receive the kind of maintenance as some other (possibly more reputable) digital libraries, in that users can upload media themselves rather than having everything processed by librarians.

3. I think it is important to see where libraries came from in order to better understand where we are now. It also helps to understand certain “traditions” that have always been a part of libraries or things that have now changed. Seeing the whole picture can help us see why digital libraries have developed the way they have, and whether it’s in our best interest to retain some of these traditions, or maybe, let some of them go.

4. I just find it interesting that as knowledge and the way we distribute that knowledge has become more of a commodity we’ve continually lessened our restrictions on access to educational materials. Like when they mentioned having books on chains, likely because the books were so valuable—at the time books were very expensive—but as the printing press became more widespread and books became less expensive to produce, restrictions eased somewhat. As the public library came to be, we still had some restrictions in place with closed stacks, but patrons could take items out of the library. Now, when books are easily acquired in most developed nations, we have adopted open stacks, allowing open access to books with very few restrictions—except for the most valuable items.

[Kaelbail]

I would agree with your argument that the IMSLP is a unique example of a digital library. The way that users can upload media themselves without librarians having to process everything reminds me of something along the lines of YouTube, which might also be considered a digital library, right? I am interested to keep learning what the specific qualifications are for digital libraries. I would also agree with your reasoning for why it's important to consider the historical aspect of digital libraries so that we can reassess the importance of some resources and why they are beneficial to us.

[thomdaro]

1. I'm echoing the above comments here, but because it's block-quoted and highlighted it feels like Witten, et al. wanted to draw special attention to this definition: "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection."

2. There's a website I've been using for many many years called GameTabs, which has tablatures of guitar arrangements of songs from mostly video games, but some anime shows and films as well. Walking through Witten, et al.'s definition, I would say this is a focused collection, as it's a specific type of digital object and there are fairly strict guidelines for how that object is formatted and presented. As a user, I can access and retrieve any one of these tabs via browsing, a sitewide search, or filtering the catalogue by instrument, tuning, style, and so on. The tabs are organized by which media property's score they adapt, and the collection is always growing. I assume the moderators also remove tabs that do not follow site guidelines, so the collection is maintained as well, albeit on the back end. At the time of writing, the site contains 8254 tabs from 1926 properties. Here's a little example:

|-3-----------------------5---7---|-8-------7---5---3-------0-------|-5-------3---1---0---------------|  
|-------------------------0-------|---------------------------------|-----------------1-------3-------|  
|---------------------0---0-------|-----5---------------------------|-5-----------------------0-------|  
|---------2-------2---------------|-------------------------2-------|-3---------------2-------0-------|  
|-----2-------2-------------------|-0-------------------2-------2---|-----------------3-------2-------|  
|-0-------------------------------|-----------------0---------------|---------------------------------|

3. Repeating and drawing on some excellent points made above, physical libraries were and are foundational to the creation of digital libraries. It follows, then, that we should have an understanding of physical libraries to act as a foundation for our understanding of digital libraries. Additionally, it's easy to think of print libraries as fairly simple structures, but they have evolved over thousands of years of innovation, like any other technology. I find it really interesting that someone had to create the first index. While I'm not familiar with the intricacies of print libraries, I think it's safe to say they're far more complex than the vast majority of people recognize. Digital libraries are a sort of natural extension and continuation of that innovative process, I think.

4. Ever since last semester, I've been fascinated by what digital libraries lose in the conversion of print to digital, i.e. the physical characteristics of books, and specifically if and how those characteristics can be represented or even replicated in something like a virtual reality environment. With about $60 worth of material and some light labor, it's now possible to make a pair of haptic gloves that, in certain programs, will allow the user to 'feel' the shape of an object. It's a lot to go into here, but let me know if you want a full explanation. What I'm interested in is extending that to say, haptic sleeves that can simulate weight, or smaller, more precise haptics on the fingertips to simulate texture. I don't know if it will ever be possible to fully capture that physical experience, but it would be interesting to see how close we could get with current and future technology in that space. And y'know, of course that raises larger questions about what perception and experience really mean, the values we ascribe to them, stuff like that.

[JohaknigIU]

That's very cool reference. A lot of video game music isn't properly put into sheet music so that's cool to see resources where you can find that. I'll definitely be show this to my friends that play guitar

[JohaknigIU]

• What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
Witten writes that a digital library is “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection.” They are key to pointing out that a digital library is more than just a “digitized library” and is certainly not a replacement for conventional libraries. Rather they can help convey information differently and for different goals.
• Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
https://www.steamgriddb.com/
The website Steamgriddb is used primarily as a companion to the application and game store Steam, which allows users to customize their games with artwork using their own uploaded files. Steamgriddb lets users find art based on specific video games than can then be uploaded into a user’s steam application. The Steamgriddb site functions as a digital library because it adheres to all of the guidelines established by Witten. The collection is extremely focused not only to videogame art specifically but has strict guidelines for what types of images are allowed to be featured.
https://www.steamgriddb.com/help
The site houses digital images, video and text, which count as digital objects. Items are accessible by key searching the name of the videogame you are seeking art of, or by searching by image type, user collections, image dimensions, languages, file type, and by upload history. Specific items are retrievable by letting users directly download the files. Items are organized based on the game they are related to, the type of image being replaced (box art, background art, logo art, and icon art), and file type.
https://www.steamgriddb.com/game/17830 An example of a game specific collection as well as the various image types is posted here.
While items are user submitted, they must adhere to the guidelines posted above and are maintained by moderators who will delete submissions that do not follow posting guidelines. By these accounts Steamgriddb is a digital library as defined by Witten.
• Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
I believe Witten spends so much time discussing old and ancient libraries and technologies for a few key reasons. I think that it highlights the continued evolution of the library, which were primarily tools of the upper crust of society in the past to resources that millions of educated people use today. This connects back to the start of the article in which digital libraries can be used as additional resources to connect people to information. Similarly, it helps demonstrate that digital libraries are a new type of library but are not necessarily the final evolution of libraries as a whole. It is easy to view technology and history as a liner line of progression without considering function. It also shows how today’s digital materials and tools are modeled off older physical practices, like how word documents and web pages are designed to mimic codex formats and paper sheets.
• Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
I think that libraries are so often thought of purely as academic and scholarly resources that their capacity as humanitarian and cultural safeguarding tools is extremely important, especially with the unique benefits that digital libraries can offer to users. General low cost, a lack of substantial space investment and easy access to multimedia objects allows digital libraries to help in ways that would make traditional libraries burdensome or impractical to implement. So many cultures have been lost in the last two centuries that it is encouraging to see libraries used to not only preserve these cultures but expand their usage by the communities themselves rather than be treated as history. The opening stories about Kataayi and Zia Pueblo were the most compelling examples in this entire chapter to me. As someone who loves technology, I was also quite impacted by how first world “outdated” and “obsolete” technologies like optical media can be a game changer in areas where access to information is poor. I would ask or like to know how digital libraries and archives can reach out further to their own communities, to provide better services and resources to members of our own communities that may also lack access and opportunity to information resources.

[thomdaro]

Never heard of SteamGridDB before reading your post, but it's fantastic. I didn't even know you could set custom backgrounds and logos – now I've got them for all of my installed games. Thanks for sharing!

[JohaknigIU]

Happy to have introduced you to it.

[Kschu97]

Thanks for sharing about SteamGridDB. I always know I could change my backgrounds but had never heard of this site before. I will be looking into, and possibly using it in the near future.

As part of our course readings for this class we have already had to read about copyright. However, how does a digital library represent cultural heritage material such as native american objects and folklore? Or australian aboriginal photographs where their spirituality makes it uncomfortable to see images of dead relatives? Though not unique to digital libraries, these issues are more pronounced in the digital environment where things are (usually) more acceasable. If you are really interested in how digital libraries can impact various cultural and minority groups around the world, preserve their culture, and the moral issues and implications of dissiminating minority groups' culture in a digital library environment I would recommend taking ILS-Z 604 Folklore Archives in the Digital Age taught by Barbara Hillers if you have not already taken it. In many ways digital libraries are an excellent means of "safeguarding" culture but it often comes with its own can of worms one has to deal with.

[cschev]

1. Wittten, et al. define a digital library as “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection” (7).

2. The New York Public Library has an extensive digital collection. The institution has digitized over 900,000 items thus far, which are helpfully organized into smaller subsets for easy retrieval. Their collection contains many different types of digital objects, including photographs, historic menus, atlases, and manuscripts. The library seems to have thoroughly considered researchers' needs. All object entries include citation information, details on where the physical item is located, and the ability to zoom in to better read any small print or pencil markings.

3. When trying to innovate in any field it is important to know the history of that field. By including a large section that focuses on the history of libraries, we can better understand how libraries, their collections, patrons, and missions, have changed over the years and how former librarians have adapted to these changes. Having a better grasp of these changes also illustrates why digital libraries have become such important resources today.

4. My own experience working with digital libraries is relatively limited and confined to academic settings. I have never really considered their application outside of higher education, so I greatly enjoyed the multiple examples of how such services can be and are used by diverse populations. Similarly, I found the discussion about how most digital libraries are created by individuals from Western backgrounds whose cultural values may not align with audiences from other communities fascinating. It's interesting to consider the formation and role of digital libraries in cultures where certain knowledge is meant to only be shared with individuals of a certain status.

[Kaelbail]

I had never checked out the New York Public Library's digital collection before, but after taking a quick look around their site, I was surprised to see how massive their collection is. I think it's kind of fun to hold this example of a digital library up against the historical picture I have in my mind of how the New York Public Library looked when it was founded in the 1890s. Just to think about how much change and innovation was needed to get from the starting point to where it is now is fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

[bfmalone]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?

• Sorry to use the same quote as everyone else, but Witten, et al. defines a digital library as “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection”.

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.

• I think that a great example of the definition is the International Children’s Digital Library (http://www.childrenslibrary.org/index.html) hosted through the University of Maryland. The site isn’t the prettiest, but books are broken up into different categories (language, genre, color, etc.) to make selection and organization for patrons easier, as well as to maintain the collection. There is also a link displayed on each book page to allow users to access it digitally.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?

• I think Witten, et al. spends so much time discussing these topics because it is important to see how libraries have grown throughout the years. Learning the origins of libraries and how their technologies and services have developed is a critical part of understanding the creation of modern digital libraries and how we might develop them for the future.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

• Something I found interesting was the recent idea that maybe bigger isn’t always better. Libraries all over the world are struggling with this, IU Libraries included. ALF has had a couple new additions over the years to support the constantly expanding collections, and it doesn’t look like there will be another anytime soon. It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of conversations will happen at IU over the next decade, especially for places like the Lilly where extreme weeding is not on the table for them at the moment.

[Kschu97]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?

Witten, et al describe a digital library as being a "focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection." [page 7].

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.

The Qatar Digital Library (https://www.qdl.qa/en) is a good example of a digital library, especially one that deals with archival materials. It is a grewing collection that contains digitized journals, maps, audio recordings and other materials organized by subject, sub-region, medium, etc. related to Qatar and the wider middle east.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?

I think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old libraries and library technologies in a book about digital libraries because digital libraries did not develop in an intellectual vacuum. Digital libraries are a product of, and response to, the historical realities, questions asked and asked of, and problems trying to be solved by historical, physical libraries and pasted technologies.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

I liked how the HathiTrust article briefly covered issues surrounding sustained preservation of digital content. Last semester I took a course on Folklore Archives and the Digital Age where we spent a large portion of the class talking about the vulnerability of digital collections. It may often be more accesseable than physical collections, but in some ways it is also more vulnerable. File formats, software, websites, etc. are constantly at risk of becoming obsolete, disappearing, and/or failing to be migrated to newer systems and file formats.

[alamorri]

• Witten, et al. define digital libraries as "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection."
• Internet Archive is a site I believe conforms to the given definition of a digital library, in that it is "a focused collections of digital objects" in that it is a large repository of audio/visual information (including texts) which is preserved in a digital format.
• It would make sense that even though the nature of physical and digital libraries are very different, their overall goals and design share much of the same DNA. Thus, it makes sense that to understand the more modern iteration of libraries, a look at their ancient/historical predecessors was required.
• The example presented in Witten et al. of how people in developing nations can benefit from digital libraries, as well as the instance of how it was somewhat difficult for a user to successfully interact with Pergamos raise interesting ideas. One is that while digital libraries can help developing countries, this potential uplift is hampered by the money it would cost for the initial maintenance/startup of both internet access and access to digital content that is not available in a free format. Another is that digital libraries can inherent the bias of their creators, as evidenced by the fact that it seems like whoever indexed Sophocles assumed that anyone who searched for the writer would be doing so using the Greek alphabet. These ideas raise two questions. Are monetary barriers to digital access something Whitten et al. will address in more detail in future readings? And will those same authors address the inherent bias of digital library indexers?

[MOBULLOCK]

1. Witten, et. al. defines digital libraries as “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection.”
2. The Harvard Library’s digital collections (https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/) are great examples of a digital library that aligns with the established definition. Some of their digital collections include thoroughly accessible and rare digitized materials, a section with access policies with contact information provided in case there are special inquiries about access, and a guide on selection and organization of the digital materials.
3. To echo a lot of what’s already been said, I think the context of the older, ancient libraries is included to emphasize their indispensability to the history and function of libraries as we may understand them now and to also illustrate the adaptability of the old methods, practices, and theories to the needs of libraries throughout time and to create a contrast between the past reliance on the solely analog and tangible and today’s increasing necessity for digital use and access.
4. I really liked the idea briefly explored regarding the ability of digital libraries to facilitate a process of participation and ownership with regard to marginalized communities, the Zia Pueblo was used as an example in the text, documenting and making materials and media regarding their culture available on content management platforms. Post-custodial approaches to collection development are becoming increasing integrated into some library and information institutions’ goals and objectives to address past harms done in extracting and limiting access to historically excluded populations to such materials. I think digital librarianship has helped to remove many research barriers but also has allowed certain populations and communities to present their material culture through their lens and by their own hand and imagination.

[casemach]

1. Witten, et al. define a digital library as "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection" (p. 7). They also emphasized that a digital library is not simply a "digitized library" that is meant to replace a physical library. Digital libraries are meant to work in conjunction with physical libraries and bring new or different meanings to the objects in their collections.
2. An example of a digital library is FishBase. This is an online database where ecologists around the globe are able to freely access information about different fish species. Scientists have the ability to submit their own research to FishBase, which can include images/videos they have taken of certain fish, diagrams of the fish, statistics, and research papers. The fish species can be searched alphabetically, by location, by ecosystem (freshwater, salt water, etc.), or by topic. The database also includes interactive maps. The different types of digital objects and the various ways the information is organized qualifies this database as a digital library.
3. Understanding the evolution of libraries and the ways their missions and values have changed is important for understanding the significance of digital libraries and the roles they play in the field as it is today. The ideas the field has about physical space and expansion and the move towards user-centered service contextualizes the importance of digital libraries.
4. I was interested by the discussion about how digital libraries can be used to preserve culture. The text uses the example of the Zia Pueblo, and how a digital library is used to preserve their language and traditions. Digital libraries seem to be a way to provide autonomy and ownership for groups directly impacted by the preservation of cultural objects. This example reminded me of a paper assigned in Representation and Organization in which members of the Maori people in New Zealand were able to create a classification system that directly reflected structures within their culture. Digital libraries are an accessible way for marginalized communities to preserve their objects and present them in a way they want them to be presented.

[mvladoiu]

Casey, I'm also highly interested in the role of digital libraries in preserving culture!

[heidi-y]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
I guess the answer to this question is well, a lot of things! Digital libraries are diverse, they appear in varied formats and encompass varied scopes for varied purposes. However, as others have noted, the authors describe in their own words a digital library as, "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection," (Witten, et al. pg. 7)

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
https://jukebox.uaf.edu/
Project Jukebox of Alaska Fairbanks University I believe is a great example. They hold a collection of oral histories and associated maps, photographs, and text. The website is pretty old school and is currently under construction, but what they do have is actually nicely organized and gives a lot of great contextual information. Really highlights the important curatorial aspect of this work.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
I think partially to provide tangibility to the sort of intangible or amorphous "digital space" that the digital library inhabits, but more to illustrate the evolution of libraries and to combat potential viewpoints that libraries are these unchanging, fixed institutions.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
"Not all information is created equal, and wisdom is what librarians add to the library by making decisions about what to include in a collection—difficult decisions—and by following up with appropriate ways of organizing and maintaining the information," (Witten, et al, pg. 9) I'd like to unpack this more and think about the power librarians hold in determining the boundaries of a collection, what to include, what to exclude, etc.

[mvladoiu]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?

• Witten et al. defines a digital library as "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection."

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.

• This is an online library that probably no one will actually be able to read, but it's still worth checking out just to see the layout. https://bvg.udc.es/index.jsp I could go on for ages about this website, but briefly, it is a called the Biblioteca Virtual Galega (Galician Virtual Library), and it is a project out of Spain. It contains videos, images, audio, and texts that are relevant to the cultural heritage of Galicia. Many of these items are available on the website itself. It continues to grow by encouraging people who write in Galician to share their work to the repository. I particularly love the organization of the collection, because it is very much an attempt to "look" like a traditional library, which I think makes for a cute website.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?

• As others have pointed out, it is important and even necessary to understand and consider the history of libraries and technology if you want to have any understanding of digital libraries. Principles taken from "old" or "traditional" libraries can be applied to digital libraries. It can also be funny to think about when people are complaining about "how libraries should be", because throughout history and throughout the world, there have been many different kinds of libraries. By knowing library history, you can know that digital libraries are an extension or complement to "traditional" libraries, and in fact aren't meant to be a replacement.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

• Something that really sticks out to me and usually comes up in readings about digital libraries is the whole issue of copyright. Copyright law in the United States especially is completely wild to me. One of the things we read mentioned the huge percentage of books that are currently both IN copyright and also OUT of print, and thus more or less unavailable... Not to say that copyright isn't an issue with physical books or physical libraries, but the entire issue is much worse with digital libraries.

[aprilmurb]

Hi Megan, I also wrote that the copyright issues stood out to me. That's interesting about materials being in copyright but out of print, and I wonder how a librarian would try to deal with that. I feel like the other side of this might be an object that's easy to find on the web, but whose origin/author is hard or impossible to figure out. It seems that in these kinds of cases, attribution and licensing on digital libraries would be really tricky.

[aprilmurb]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?

Witten et al. define a digital library as “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection” (p. 7). In other words, a digital library collects and preserves materials of different mediums in such a way that these materials are discoverable by users looking for them and are freely accessible. The digital library also consists of infrastructure for organizing the materials in a standardized way that enables adding and describing more materials later on.

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.

I believe that COVE (Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education) is a good example of a digital library. COVE hosts and makes available resources on English literature (mainly Victorian), such as edited editions of novels and poems and presents these materials in an easily navigable interface. COVE also contains digital exhibits of images and scanned periodicals relevant to the Victorian era. It therefore serves as a useful resource for college-levels teachers and students of Victorian literature, as it provides access to texts and to multimedia supplementary materials.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?

I think Witten et al. discuss the history of libraries in order to provide context for digital libraries; in other words, to show that digital libraries are both a continuation of, and a departure from, what we usually consider more "traditional" library institutions. I found it interesting how they show that, despite the huge differences between physical/digital materials and between the physical space of the library and the virtual space of digital collections, there are still important continuities between the two. Obviously, digital libraries have the same type of mission as more traditional physical libraries. Beyond that, Witten et al.'s claim that catalogs and bibliographies are metadata, and therefore virtual (p. 20) is really interesting to think about, as it emphasizes that infrastructure is just as important (if not more so) to a library as the objects contained therein, and that libraries themselves are a kind of technology. Witten et al.'s history also illustrates how digital libraries are useful in not having the constraints of a physical library, as there is no limited shelf space in the digital realm and the web provides more tools for organization and design.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

I thought the emphasis on copyright, though rather dry, was pretty interesting. Witten et al. talk about how digital libraries are distinct from the "anarchy" of the Web at large, and ensuring that all materials are copyrighted seems like a really important piece of this. I believe this also helps us to think about how the free accessibility offered by digital libraries is important and makes them different from something like a paid subscription service or Amazon e-books. This did make me think about if we can consider some forms of social media to be digital libraries. A platform like Tumblr or Pinterest (or some Instagram pages) is more like the Wild West, so to speak, in terms of copyright, but many users also use these platforms to curate images. I wonder how the curation involved in these platforms might bear upon or relate to digital libraries or collections.

[layilin]

Digital libraries are defined as a combination of three parts: digital material, user's access to the material, and librarianship (selection, organization, and maintenance, central to the notion of a library).
Witten, et al. include a brief history of libraries (section 1.2) to emphasize (especially for the technology-minded) that digital libraries are, after all, libraries and librarianship distinguishes them from digital contents on the Web.
Hathitrust, which I relied on to collect periodical reviews of a mid-Victorian work for my master's thesis and to read for classes when temporary access to Wells Library-held in-copyright books was provided, seems too obvious an example. I recently came across Naxos Music Library while searching for a concert recording in IUCAT. It is primarily a digital library for world premiere recordings of classical music, accessible through its own streaming platform (web and mobile), 39 public playlists on Spotify, and Apple Music. The titles are mostly from the Naxos and Marco Polo catalogues.
I've been thinking whether a personal (i.e. the curator is also the only user) collection of digital objects, accessible and managed through a free cloud service, can be called a digital library. A library doesn't have to be public by definition, but digital libraries are hardly discussed as a personal practice of research management in the readings.

[myren-mitchell]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?

Witten describes a digital library as a specific group of objects in a digital format that are able to be retrieved, viewed, and maintained on an online platform. These objects can include a multitude of formats including items that contain text, images, audio, and video.

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.

(https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/)
I believe that GVSU’s archive’s digital collections website conforms to this definition, because the site hosts a variety of digital contents that are organized and simple to retrieve. The items are organized into collections and contain detailed metadata. This site is also available for anyone to access at any time.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?

I believe Witten dedicates so much time discussing old libraries because it is important to understand the ways in which libraries functioned before the advent of technology. They also explain the reasons why these libraries were created and the types of materials that were stored. As Witten describes and explains the recent advent of digital libraries, it helps to get a glimpse into how libraries have evolved over time.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.

I enjoyed how Witten describes how libraries in the past were only available for the wealthy or powerful to access, and then goes and explains how they have begun to expand their access over time. Digital libraries are another step in the process of expanding access, now allowing people to obtain information across hundreds of thousands of miles.

[Kaelbail]

• What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
Witten writes that a digital library is “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection” (pg. 7). He clarifies that a digital library not simply a “digitized library” and is, in no way, a replacement for conventional libraries, rather digital libraries allow user to find information conveyed differently and for different goals.
• Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
I think one of my favorite digital libraries to share with people is Hoopla. It includes access to so many platforms such as: audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, or music, and the ease of use makes this a fun digital library to explore for fun if you don’t already have an end goal in mind. It also is unique in that you can find the same information conveyed in different ways to suit your research or interest-based needs.
• Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
Witten, et al. seems to spend time emphasizing the old, ancient libraries and their technologies because it is beneficial to the future of library science and technology to see the patterns of what worked and what didn’t in improving technology in the library over time. Without recognizing where we started and analyzing the steps to how we got where we are, we cannot properly and holistically plan for moving forward and improving. I also think Witten, et al. were able bring a better understanding of the potential usage and benefits of digital libraries through their discussion.
• Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
I think one of the ideas that stood out to me was that librarians have more power than people think in determining what a library collection can bring to its users; this was conveyed in the following passage: "Not all information is created equal, and wisdom is what librarians add to the library by making decisions about what to include in a collection—difficult decisions—and by following up with appropriate ways of organizing and maintaining the information" (Witten, et al, pg. 9). I also think that further exploring the way digital libraries can empower people in learning about and preserving their cultures would be fascinating.

[jwparkinson]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
Witten defines a digital library as "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access
and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection" (7). The text emphasizes that this definition lends an equal amount of power to the librarian and the user.

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
Biodiversity Heritage Library
This library is definitely a "focused collection of digital objects", hosting images, literature, and other forms of media related to the study of biodiversity. Its goal is to "[make] biodiversity literature openly available to the world", and seems to fulfill the latter portion of Witten, et al.'s definition of a digital library.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
Witten, et al. points out that digital library proponents often approach digital libraries from a technological perspective rather than the perspective of a librarian or information scientist (7). By focusing on libraries and technologies of the past, the text emphasizes the oft overlooked "library" aspect of "digital libraries". These technologies have existed--and evolved--for a very long time, and by understanding the history of libraries as institutions, digital libraries can better serve their users.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
I thought it was interesting that Witten, et al. draws a distinction between a digital library and a website that "provides a wealth of digital
objects, along with appropriate methods of access and retrieval" (9). While they describe the difference to some extent, I'm curious about how distinct these two entities actually are from each other.

[SethCope96]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
It is defined as "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection" (Witten et al., 7).

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
NARA
The National Archives and Records Administration of the U.S. Government is currently focused on providing citizens and peoples around the world with digital access to the specialized collections they have been privy to since their inception. Although the collection is vast, the catalogs provided by NARA allow researchers a chance to focus in on the topics important to them, thus satisfying Witten et al.'s definition of a digital library.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
In their own words, "digital libraries are about new ways of dealing with knowledge," not the replacement for old technologies (7). Additionally, the way that people interact with topics is informed by our method of interaction; each method of storing information has a bit of information loss, due to the natural limitations of each method. By bringing this to our attention, Witten et al. seek to highlight that while digital libraries may outstrip certain methods of information storage in the amount of data used, there may be limitations that are not recognizable at first blush when using them.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
Something that really grabbed me was Lawrence Lessig's analysis of copyright laws as a "brake" on the spread of information. Copyright law is an unwieldy beast in the American legal system, backed by giants like the Walt Disney Corporation, and changes to that system are slow in their formation. Digital librarians exist in an international space by virtue of the internet, so I'm interested in seeing what kinds of copyright restrictions affect librarians when dealing with international materials.

[absuddar]

1. Witten, et. al. defined a digital library as, “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection.”
2. https://www.fishbase.se/search.php
   Fishbase is an appropriate example of a digital library given Witten, et. al.’s definition as it is a curated database of digital images and text regarding fish. It is designed for users to easily retrieve the information they need (the most common users for the site are students) and the site is well-organized. The database has several employees whose sole job it is to update and maintain the database.
3. Witten, et al. spend much of their time discussing old and ancient libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries because the technology to build and maintain digital libraries is so new relative to libraries as a whole. Libraries, as institutions meant for collecting and maintaining knowledge to be accessed by future users, have been around for millennia and as technology has advanced, this ultimate goal of libraries has both shifted and increased. As time passes and technology improves, the libraries’ focus has centered increasingly on the end user and accessibility. Likewise, with the advent of the internet, the end users have gone from those in the same geographic location as the library to potentially the entire world. This is a stark contrast to ancient libraries that focused on preserving knowledge and were generally restricted to an elite few, such has monks in a given monastery, scholars at a particular university, etc. In order to understand where digital libraries are headed and why this is significant, one must first understand where libraries began.
4. I am particularly interested in copyright law. I already knew that copyright owned by individuals (as opposed to corporations) lasted up to seventy years after the copyright owner’s death. However, I did not realize that for works with multiple individual owners/co-authors that the copyright lasted until seventy years after the last copyright owner’s death. Likewise, for works for hire or anonymous works where the copyright is owned by an institution rather than an individual, I knew that the copyright lasted for ninety-five years after publication, but I did not know that it could also last one-hundred twenty years from creation if that length of time would be shorter. I’m curious as to how that would be proven and in what situation a work would be published so long after it was created for the one-hundred twenty years after creation to be shorter than the ninety-five years after publication. I also didn’t realize that works created by federal employees were in the public domain. I was confused if they meant that all works by current federal employees were in the public domain or works related to their job functions created by federal employees were in the public domain. If a sitting elected official were to begin writing a memoir or write a children's book, would those works be in the public domain even if they are not government functions?

[peter-jos]

What is the definition of a digital library provided by Witten, et al.?
According to this book, a digital library is “a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection.”

Link to an online library, collection, or other resource that you believe conforms to this definition and explain why you think it is an appropriate example of a digital library.
Bluemaxima’s Flashpoint is a resource that I believe is an appropriate example of a digital library. Flashpoint is a sort of digital archive/preservation project, focused on archiving and making available media created using Adobe Flash. With the death of Flash across the internet recently, Flashpoint is now generally the easiest way(or sometimes the only way) to access media that is otherwise now impossible to play. Over 100,000 games and 10,000 animations have so far been saved in Flashpoint, which has a large international community dedicated to hunting down saved files and online sites that might still have files hosted on them that can be retrieved and salvaged.
Flashpoint is open source and uses its own software and launcher to emulate the Flash player, and gives users the option to download the entire archive of content(a whopping 1.42 terabytes), or a client that downloads what you want when you want it(a much more manageable 2.7 GB). This way, Flashpoint allows users to curate their own experience, selecting only the content they want to see at any given point or uploading the material they wish to share with the archive.

Why do you think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing old, even ancient, libraries and technologies in a book about digital libraries?
I think Witten, et al. spend so much time discussing older forms of technologies and libraries because it shows how libraries and information sharing have evolved over time. While the exact materials and processes we use to maintain and disseminate the information have drastically changed, the core idea still remains the same no matter the shape it takes.

Respond to other ideas or concepts that stood out to you and ask questions you have about the material.
I find the text’s discussion about websites and digital libraries being different entities interesting, because to me these are largely the same in the modern Internet. Would the author consider a site like Youtube a digital library? It certainly falls under the definition provided as a collection of digital videos, texts, and audio, with methods for access and downloading, and curation of the collection via subscriptions, but certainly does not feel much like a library at all.

[ElioSilva]

1. According to Witten, et. al. digital library is defined as, "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio, along with methods for access and retrieval, and for selection, organization, and maintenance of the collection."
2. .In this link ( https://www.bne.es/es/collections ) you can access the Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE) or Spanish National Library, an example par excellence of a digital library that aligns with the established definition. Some of its digital collections include various digitized materials such as the collection of drawings, which is the most important for the quality and volume of its works, collection of engravings, collection of incunabula books that are printed before 1501, collection of scores and musicology. , collection of maps from several centuries, manuscripts, collection of ephemera and history and literature books that were printed in the past. All of them are fully accessible, a contact information section provided in case there are special access queries, and guidance on selecting and organizing digital materials. Finally, it has a digital newspaper archive, a Hispanic digital library and personal and entity archives.
3. Although technological progress has allowed the digital library to be important for the preservation of many records in the world, this would have been nothing if it had not been for the observation, compilation and conservation of physical information archived by the old, ancient or traditional libraries. Libraries in the past had a rigorous and complex collection and preservation system that allowed them to recover and save various records that have deteriorated over time or, in the worst case, been lost. However, these left an imprint and are still being studied and discussed by authors such as Witten for the sake of the future of librarianship/ library science. The concept of digital library is necessary and plays an important role in present day, but it is not the only option to preserve and maintain historical records, the role of preserving physical records must continue to fulfill a role of reserve, base or source of everything what we observe or read digitally.
4. I find it fascinating that the digitization of libraries or collections democratizes the practical access of many people who, due to time, distance or money, cannot know in person the historical legacy of their ancestors. It is worth saying that communities or towns that are far from the big cities or that do not have a library nearby, can learn about or study any ancient or rare text from their country and even from the world. However, the value of physical records cannot be radically replaced by digitized ones, because these will always serve as a backup source. Although there are cases of disposal or recycling of many copies of books due to the expansion of library facilities, among other practical reasons, there are also objects that are priceless that cannot be replaced. That is, records such as Paleolithic archaeological tools, Egyptian papyri, Greek parchments, cuneiform tablets, among other medieval manuscripts, cartographies from past centuries, which are unique in their nature, can be digitized in order to divulge the information on those records; but to be studied academically and continuously , it is necessary that they always physically exist.

[rthedrick91]

• According to Witten, et al., a digital library is not just, "a focused collection of digital objects, including text, video, and audio..." but also includes the means through which this objects are accessed and made available to patrons.
• The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that started in 1996 and was initially focused on archiving early internet content. Since then the organization has evolved and now operates as a digital library that works to archive web pages, books, audio recordings, videos, images, and software programs. This archive clearly can clearly be described as a digital library. The Internet Archives stated mission is to provide universal access to all knowledge through the digital preservation of objects, and ensuring they're easily accessible.
• I think there are multiple reasons Witten, et al., spent so much time discussing libraries and technologies of the past. First, it builds a baseline of knowledge that describes where libraries started and what they are evolving into. But even as libraries evolve, Witten and company establish that the overall goal of libraries, digital or not, have remained the same, which is to preserve objects while providing the best access possible to its patrons.
• One of the main topics that stood out to me from Witten, et al., chapter one, was copyright law. Copyright law in the U.S. and across the world is extremely complex and ever changing. I feel like no body likes to talk about copyright law, but when dealing with objects like books, movies, songs, and other published works, it is a necessary conversation. The questions raised in the first chapter about the legal status of documents published on the web were of particular interest to me. Is it even possible for copyright law to keep up with the quickly evolving uses of the web and online applications?