Definition And Purposes Of A Digital Library

[Berkeley Digital LibrarySunSITE] Definition and Purposes of a Digital Library Association of Research Libraries October 23, 1995 Definition There are many definitions of a "digital library." Terms such as "electronic library" and "virtual library" are often used synonymously. The elements that have been identified as common to these definitions[1] are: * The digital library is not a single entity; * The digital library requires technology to link the resources of many * The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are transparent to the end users; * Universal access to digital libraries and information services is a goal; * Digital library collections are not limited to document surrogates: they extend to digital artifacts that cannot be represented or distributed in printed formats. Purposes The purposes of a North American digital library system[2] are: * to expedite the systematic development of: the means to collect, store, and organize information and knowledge in digital form; and of digital library collections in North America; * to promote the economical and efficient delivery of information to all sectors of North American society; * to encourage co-operative efforts which leverage the considerable investment in North American research resources, computing and communications network; * to strengthen communication and collaboration between and among the research, business, government, and educational communities; * to take an international leadership role in the generation and dissemination of knowledge in areas of strategic importance to North America; * to contribute to the lifelong learning opportunities of all North Americans. [1] See: Drabenstott, Karen M. Analytical review of the library of the future, Washington, DC: Council Library Resources, 1994. [2] Adapted from The CAN-LINKED Initiative, a proposal for the co-ordinated development of a distributed national digital library system in Canada, prepared by a group of academic and research libraries. February, 1995. ------------------Association of Research Libraries October 23, 1995 Copyright © Association of Research Libraries 1995. All rights reserved. Document maintained at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ARL/definition.html by the SunSITE Manager. Last update 1/10/96. SunSITE Manager: [email protected]