Digital libraries provide users with organized access to large repositories of digital information and knowledge from around the world. They extend physical libraries by allowing remote access to more resources and enabling new ways of accessing and sharing information. Digital libraries integrate multiple information sources, support various media formats, and provide advanced search capabilities while preserving traditional library functions of collection, organization, access, and preservation. Several major projects in the United States and Europe are working to develop technologies to build large-scale digital libraries in various subject domains.

1. CHAPTER -3
DIGITAL LIBRARIES AND THEIR
IMPORTANCE

2. Digital libraries are systems providing user with
coherent access to a very large, organized repository ofinformation
and knowledge Digital library is a global virtual library. The library
of thousands of networked electronic libraries from the down of
civilization, the intellectual brains have pouredtheir omniscience in
different directions in shape of print and non-print form to
enlightened mass to explore multifarious research and development.
Several terms have been coined at different times to represent the
concept of library without books. Libraries having information in
computer readable format or having access to information in digital
format have risen to an unexpected hight and thereby the traditional
libraries were conformed to problems to meet the instant growing
demands of the user communities for their multidimensional
approaches. Recent advances in the information world have
transformed the role of library in disseminating information to user.
Increase in the number of user and their different needs have made
modem libraries to apply new communication technology. As a
result ofthis there is a worldwide need and trend to collect organize
manage, protect and distribute information in digital form.
1. Concept of Digital Library
The terms, which have been in vogue at different
times, include paperless library, virtual library, and electronic
library online library, desktop library, andpolyglot library, library
without boundaries and more recently digital libraries.1The term
Digital library in broad sense is a computerized system that allows
usersto obtain acoherentmeansofaccesstoanorganizedelectronically
stored repository of information and data.

3. • Collection in which complete contents of documents are
created and converted to computer possible form for online
access.
• Online databases and CD-ROMinformationproducts.
• Computer storage devices on which information repositories
reside such as optical disc, Juke bases DVDROMtowers etc.
• Database including library catalogue accessible through the
Internet.
2
• Computerized networked library system.
The digital library is making the library undergo
a change in the paradigm o f its role to create organize and
distribution o f information resources. A digital library is a
distributed electronic collection that covers virtually allfields of
human endeavor to serve the defined community.3
Digital libraries are logical extension and
augmentations of physical library. They extend and augment their
physical counterparts by extending existing resources and services
and enable development ofnew possibilities for information access
and Retrieval in other worlds Electronic library based on digitalized
data is text replacing the paper based records and that is why with
the help of networking one can have access to resources round the
clock. The advantage includes resources sharing, documents delivery
services and data transmission in a minimal duration.
The collection ofinformation image graphics etc.
ina digital librarywithoutanygeographical circumscribearedisseminated
in all digitized form through internet which are accessed by the
network services provider and millions of users connect their PC’s
through Digital collection services using local Area Network (LAN)
Technology to get a transformed authentic, pin pointed information.

4. 2. Digital Library: A Brief Expression
Clifford Lynch a well know expert on Internet
and web technology, defined digital library as “ Systemproviding a
community of users with coherent access to a large organized
repository of information and knowledge. The digital library is not
? 4
just one entity, but multiple sources are seamlessly integrated. ”
According to R. Smith digital libraries are
“ Controlled collection ofinformation bearing objects (IBOS) that
are in digitalform and that may be organized, accessed, evaluated
and used by means o f heterogeneous and extensible set of
distributedservices that are supported by digital technology. ”
According to E.A. Fox. the digital library may
defined as the “ New way ofcarrying out thefunction of libraries
encompassing new types ofinformation resources, new approaches
to acquisition, new methods of storage and preservations, new
approaches to classification and cataloguing intensive use of
electronic system and networks and dramatis shifts in intellectual
organizational and electronicpractices. ”6
According to computer professionals, a digital
library may be simply a distributed text based information system a
collection of distributed space, inters linked information or a
networked multimedia information system.
According to researchers “ The digital Libraries
is a support tool of learning in both formal an informal manners for
high technology users ofworld wide web (www), the digital library
provides the enhancement in performance organization usability and
functionality”.

5. 3. Attributes of digital library
Based on the digital library projects and
architectures described earlier, we can arrive at an indicative list of
important features of digital library. It is not intended to be an
exhaustive listnor does it suggestthat a specific digital library should
possess all the features.
Key features: - A digital library is expected to support the
following features.
• Provide access to very large information collection(s)
• Focus onprovidingaccess toprimary (orcomplete) information
not merely surrogates or indexes.
• Support multi media content
• Network accessible Provide user-friendly interface
• Use declarative representation ofdocument (e.g. taggedsmall
text) in addition or as against image, postscript, etc.forms
• Unique referencing ofdigital objects
• Enable linkrepresentation to local external object (hypertext)
• Clearly separate the digital library and the user interfaces by
employing client server architecture.
• Support traditionallibrary mission ofcollection development
organization. Access andpreservation.
• Support advanced search and retrieval
• Availablefor a very time
7
• Integratepersonal group enterprisepublic digital library.

6. 4. Technical issues in the development of digital libraries
Some ofthe major Technological challenges and
issues drawing the attention of workers in this area include.
• High band with computer network supporting efficient multi
media document transfer
• Open communicationprotocols (client-sever, e.g. z39.50forIR)
• Information access tools (browse,display and search tools)
• Meta database (databased that describe andprovide links to
other databases/Information sources
• Electronicpublishing tools (personal, institutional,publisher)
• Data compression
• Digital storage
• Scanning and conversion technologies
• Media integration technologies (multi-media)
• Advanced retrieval, indexing, natural languageprocessing,
routing andfiltering
• Documentdescriptionandrepresentationstandards (e.g. SGML)
• Inter operability (how do multiple digital libraries interact)
g
• Privacy, authentication and security.
5. Some of the Exiting Digital library project
Several digital library projects have been
undertaken since the past couple of years mainly in USA and
Europe. Chiefamong these are the NSF/ARPA/AASA fundedproject
initiatives.

7. 5.1 NSF/ARPA/NASA digital libraries project
initiatives
Funded through ajoint initiate ofthe national science
foundation (NSF), DepartmentofdefenseAdvancedResearch
Project Agency (ARPA), and the National Aeronautics and
spaceAdministration (NASA), U.S.A., TheInitiative’sfocus ison
todramaticallyadvancethemeanstocollect, store, andorganize
informationindigitalforms, andmakeitavailableforsearching,
Retrieval andprocessing via communication networks all the
userfriendly ways.9It mug be noted that all these projects
include strong participation by external agencies from the
industry, and outher research instates.
5.2 Information digital video library
Located at Carnegie Mellon University, the objective of
this project is to develop technologies for full content search
and retrieval from digital video libraries. Theproject team is
crating a test bedtoenableK -12 [10+2 level inIndia] student
to access, explore, and relieve science and Mathematics
Materialsfrom the digital video library combining speech,
imageandnaturallanguagecapabilities. It will initiallycontain
1000 hours ofvideo.10
5.3 Illinois digital Library Project
Thisislocatedat UniversityofIllinois, UrbanaChampaign
Focus here is onproviding comprehensivesearch and display
ofcomplete contents ofarticles, includingtextfigures equations
and tables to articlesfrom engineering and sciencejournals
obtained in SGMLformat directly the major partners is
publishing industry. Some ofthe software andprotocols
used include mosaic, BRS search, Z39.50 etc"

8. 5.4 Alexandria Digital Library Project
Locatedat UniversityofCaliforniaSantaBarbara, goal
ofproject is toprovideaccess tocollectionsofvarietyofspatial
information, includingdigitizedmaps, images, airphotos, and
othergraphical information, relating to the counties ofSanta
Barbara, venture andLOS Angeles in California state. The
range ofuses include school children academic researchers
and the generalpublic.'2
5.5 University of Michigan Digital Library Project
(U.M.D.L.)
The UMDLprojectfocuses on earth andspacesciences.
A relatedproject, thejournal storageproject with dignities
andmakeavailableal issuesfrom thefirstpublication through
1990 of 10 economicsjournals.13
5.6 University of Berkeley digital project
The goal ofthisproject is to develop technologiesfor
intelligent access to massive distributed collections of
molt-media documents in including Photographs, satellite,
images and Videos,full text documents, comprising multiple
terra byte databases.'4
5.7 University of California CD-ROM Information
System
This systemprovides online access toa CD-ROMbased
database through the web consisting o fpublishedfederal
(U.S.gov) statistics covering 1990 census andforeing trade
data, equivalent ofabout 26000 books, Roughly 135 GB of
data is stored on 270CD-ROMdiscs handely by 45 Pioneer
6disks CD-ROMjukebox changers connectedto 4sunSPARC
work stations.'3

9. 5.8 CORE Project
This project is being carried out at Comall University
to understand issues involved in providing access to an
electronic library ofprimaryjournal articles in chemistry. The
project covers five year of 20 primaryjournals published by
the American chemical socity, consisting of about 425000
pages. Thedataismaintainedintwoformsscannedimagesstored
on sony WORMjuke boxes and as SGML Marked up ASCII
files, for each page, stored on a SUN Unix file sever. Another
SUN Machine is used as a print server. The system supports
full text, Boolean searching. Thesystem is on anEthernetLAN
with SVGA monitor based user terminals.16
5.9 British Library’s Imitative for Access
This is a program of20 development protects, initiated
in 1993, to investigate hardware and services software
platforms for the digitization and subsequent networking ofa
range of library materials. ThepatentExpressjuke box is one
o fthe majorprojects providing in house access to over one
million ofthe current U.K. US, andEuropeanpatents held on
16 linked CD-ROMjukeboxes, each holding 100 discs
containing 800patents. Thesoftware searches andprints high
qualitypatent copiesfor users in under to minutes.17
5.10 The Red Sage Digital Journal Library Project
This is afour yearproject which began in 1.1.1973 at
University ofCalifornia, san Francisco (UCSF) dedicated to
the health sciences, in collaboration withAT&Tbell labs and
about 20publishers including Springer-verlage, Blackwell
scientific, Chapman and Hall, American chemical society,
Oxford universitypress etc.18

10. Thegoal oftheredsageprojectistoexplorethetechnical.
Educational, supportandbehavioral issue%as||ociatedwiththe
electronic delivery of primary journals to scientists and
clinicians at their place ofwork, by buildipgand deploying a
working digitaljournal libraiy ofthe health sciences at YCSF
participating publishers hope to gain understanding ofhpw
they need to modify their print production processes to
produce electronicversions ofjournals. Eventuallytheredsage
projecthopesto developabusinessmodal forelectronicjournals
that will be satisfactoiy to universities and libraries publishers
and technology providers.
6. Services of Digital library'5
After converting a traditional library into a
digital library the following services can be provided.
6.1 E-mail
• The E-mail stands of electronic mail
• It is a serviceofInternet as well as Digital libraiy.
• The delivery of E-mail from the sender to the
receiver consists ofthree stages.
The first stage, the E-mail goes from the
user agent to the local server. User agent was
SMTP client software and the local server uses
SMTP server software.
The second stage, the E-mail is relayedby
thelocal server,whichnow actsasthe SMTPclient,
to the remote server, which is the SMTP (Simple
mail transfer protocol) server in this stage.
The third stage, the remote user agent uses

11. E-mail accessprotocol suchasPOP3 (PostOffice
Protocol) or IMAPS to access the mailbox and
obtain the mail.
• The firsttwo stagesuse a SMTPprotocol andthe
third uses E-mail Access protocol.
• It isnotareal-time system; thereasonisthatthere
will be some delay in receiving the message. So
tre receives can see the mail at any other time.
6.2 File transfer Protocol (FTP)
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the standardmechanism
provided by TCP / IP for copying a file from one host to
another.
• Transferring files from one computer to another is one
ofthe most common tasks expected from a network or
internetworking environment.
• FTP differs from one other client server application in
that it established two connections between the hosts.
• One connection is used for data transfer, the other for
control information.
• FTP uses two well-known TCP ports: port 21 is used
for the control connections and port 20 is used for the
data connection.
• The FTP is client server architecture
• The client has three components user interface client
control process and client data transfer.
• The server has two components the server control
process and the sender data transfer process.

12. 6.3 Remote login
• When a users wants to access an application programs
utility located remote login.
• Heretheplanet (TELNET)clientserverprograms come
into use.
• The users send the keystrokes to the Terminal deliver
where the local operating systemacceptsthe characters
but does not intercepts them.
• The characters are sent to the PLANET client, which
transfer from the characters to a universal character set
called network virtual Terminal character and deliver
them to the local TCP/IP Stack.
6.4 World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a repository of information
spread all over the world and linked to other.
The www has a unique combination of flexibility
portability and user-friendly features that distinguish it
from other services provided by the Internet,
www today is client sever service in which ofclient
using a browser can access a service using a server.
The serviceprovided is distributed overmany locations
called websites.
Automated Web Search (Search engines)
It is technique of document searching
For document searching the system is used is called
search engine.
The software will help for retrieve the documents of
specific information fastbyusingbroken logic operators
and truncation of search terms.
The some main Internet search engines are go
phers, go ogle etc.

13. 7. Digital Library Importance
• Implementation of I.T. environment
It is aimportantfactorintherespectoflibraryinformation
technology, throughthe meldingofcomputertechnologywith
communications, digital imaging, and full-motion video and
sound, can be apowerful allyto improvingeducationandthus
improving skill for grain full employment. But in order to do
this libraries and libraries will have to change. Changing the
traditional to digital is improving the education and skill.
• Speed
As we go from traditional to digitalization concept we
feel that the speed becomes faster the speed factor may be
realized in respect of working of office worker or students/
user working.By digitalization the user retrieve information
faster.
• Accessing Power
Digital Library provides accessing power to user. In
digitalization environmentthe useraccessthe latest information.
User can interact with larger no of datasheet. The user also
accesses the worldwide information through digital library.
• Supporting Power
In Digitalization concept, The Digital library support
wider range of material. It also increases the ability to deal
with large datasheet.
• Space power
The Digital Library increases the space power. It means
that we are making portable system for materials. As the
Technology increasesthe portabilityalso increases AS example
like compact disk, DVD system minimize the larger data and
store it larger. So there is no storage problem.

14. • On line reference Books
Educational softwareenhancestheknowledgeexperience
ifit is designed well and developedby exportgroup. The qual
ity of digitized reference materials today is a huge leap.
Forwarded From even the best leering programs available in
1990s it is due to the contribution of I.T. and the advances in
computerhardware andsoftware. Lightingfastmicroprocessors,
largememory, super quickhigh-resolutionvideodisplaycards,
sophisticated soundboard. Whichdeliverdigital audio andthe
storage medium the CD ROM which holds as much data as
450 highdensitydiskettesmaterializestheprovisionofreference
facility for thousand ofmulti volume encyclopedia and other
materials.
The convergencefor the digital audio, video and accel
eratedprocessing speed has led to the computing concept
20
denoted by the term multimedia. Most ofthe online reference
books are designedto take advantage ofthese newtechnologies
By offering fasterand more colorful animation, audio narrative
and feedback, video clips and often huge variety of activities
in one program softwarepublishers and developers arecreating
some truly ground breaking learning aids.
8. Digital Library - Limitation
• Cost Limitation
To establish a digital system in the traditional Library
system is costlier in initial stage.
• Skill person
Ifwe wantto work in digital systemwe need skillperson
in respect of working and maintaining

15. • Law effect
In todaysomepeople wants to securetheirpublications,
matters etc. thatwhytheycopyrighttheirpublications. Whenever
a user will try to copy some matters, he will suffer from
copyright law. There are some other laws likecyberlaw,which
affect the digital library system.
• Effect of Technology
In today advancementbecomes inthebotharealike soft
ware and hardware. The digital library wholly dependent on
telecommunication and computer. As new technology comes
in the market the digital system should change or adopt that
technology.
• Security problem
When our digital system is connected to Internet the
major problem is the security to prevent the unauthorized
access and to prevent the information from virus is the major
task in digital system.

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