Technological advances and innovative perspectives constantly evolve the notion of what makes up a digital library. Archives and the Digital Library provides an insightful snapshot of the current state of archiving in the digital realm. Respected experts in library and information science present the latest research results and illuminating case studies to provide a comprehensive glimpse at the theory, technological advances, and unique approaches to digital information management as it now stands. The book focuses on digitally reformatted surrogates of non-digital textual and graphic materials from archival collections, exploring the roles archivists can play in broadening the scope of digitization efforts through creatively developing policies, procedures, and tools to effectively manage digital content. Many of the important advances in digitization of materials have little to do with the efforts of archivists. Archives and the Digital Library concentrates specifically on the developments in the world of archives and the digitization of the unique content of information resources archivists deal with on a constant basis. This resource reviews the current issues and challenges, effective user assessment techniques, various digital resources projects, collaboration strategies, and helpful best practices. The book is extensively referenced and includes helpful illustrative figures. Topics in Archives and the Digital Library include: a case study of LSTA-grant funded California Local History Digital Resources Project expanding the scope of traditional archival digitations projects beyond the limits of a single institution a case study of the California Cultures Project the top ten themes in usability issues case studies of usability studies, focus groups, interviews, ethnographic studies, and web log analysis developing a reciprocal partnership with a digital library the technical challenges in harvesting and managing Web archives metadata strategies to provide descriptive, technical, and preservation related information about archived Web sites long-term preservation of digital materials building a trusted digital repository collaboration in developing and supporting the technical and organizational infrastructure for sustainability in both academic and state government the Archivists’ Toolkit software application Archives and the Digital Library is timely, important reading for archivists, librarians, library administrators, library information educators, archival educators, and students.

Equally valuable for LIS students just learning about the digital landscape, information professionals taking their first steps to create digital content, and organizations who already have well-established digital credentials, Purcell’s book outlines methods applicable and scalable to many different types and sizes of libraries and archives.

This landmark edited collection offers a wide-ranging overview of how rapid technological changes and the push for providing wide access to digitized cultural heritage holdings are changing the landscape of archives. This book provides a set of inspirational and informative chapters from international experts, which will help the readers understand the drivers for change in archives and their implications. Reassessment of the role of archives in the digital environment will serve to develop critical approaches to current trends in the broader heritage sector, including cultural industries experimenting with sustainable business models for cultural production, digitization of analogue cultural heritage, and the related IPR issues surrounding the re-use of digital objects and data for research, education, advocacy and art. Contributors also present state-of-the-art solutions in building digital archives on networked infrastructure, trusted digital repositories to ensure long-term access, and tools to serve emerging needs in digital humanities. Readership: Digital archivists and practitioners involved in the design and support of digital archives; professionals and researchers involved in projects working with digital archival materials; students in library, information and archive studies.

This new edition of Digital Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums is the most current, complete guide to digital preservation available today. For administrators and practitioners alike, the information in this book is presented readably, focusing on management issues and best practices. Although this book addresses technology, it is not solely focused on technology. After all, technology changes and digital preservation is aimed for the long term. This is not a how-to book giving step-by-step processes for certain materials in a given kind of system. Instead, it addresses a broad group of resources that could be housed in any number of digital preservation systems. Finally, this book is about “things (not technology; not how-to; not theory) I wish I knew before I got started.” Digital preservation is concerned with the life cycle of the digital object in a robust and all-inclusive way. Many Europeans and some North Americans may refer to digital curation to mean the same thing, taking digital preservation to be the very limited steps and processes needed to insure access over the long term. The authors take digital preservation in the broadest sense of the term: looking at all aspects of curating and preserving digital content for long term access. The book is divided into four part: 1.Situating Digital Preservation, 2.Management Aspects, 3.Technology Aspects, and 4.Content-Related Aspects. Digital Preservation will answer questions that you might not have even known you had, leading to more successful digital preservation initiatives.

The role of archives and libraries in our digital age is one of the most pressing concerns of humanists, scholars, and citizens worldwide. This collection brings together specialists from academia, public libraries, governmental agencies, and non-profit archives to pursue common questions about value across the institutional boundaries that typically separate us.

Special libraries are facing increasing challenges today. The bigfgest challenge before them is how to demonstrate that they are the best source of specialized information despite reliance on the web for information. Special libraries therefore need to change in terms of their collections, roles, services and evolve strategies for managing the change. Preservation refers to the set of activities that aims to prolong the life of a record and relevant metadata, or enhance its value, or improve access to it through noninterventive means. This includes actions taken to influence records creators prior to selection and acquisition. The purpose of preservation is to ensure protection of information of enduring value for access by present and future generations. Libraries and archives have served as the central institutional focus for preservation, and both types of institutions include preservation as one of their core functions. In recent decades, many major libraries and archives have established formal preservation programs for traditional materials which include regular allocation of resources for preservation, preventive measures to arrest deterioration of materials, remedial measures to restore the usability of selected materials, and the incorporation of preservation needs and requirements into overall program planning. This book attempts to provide all basic aspects of digital library in an authentic but simple style. It describes the revolutionary changes brought out by digital libraries in the entire concept of library organisation, managements and operations. It also discusses the challenges emerging due to the adoption of newer technologies.