PRIMARY SOURCE LEARNINGTHROUGH DIGITAL LIBRARIES

Robin M. Katz, Library Assistant Professor

PRIMARY SOURCES

DEFINITIONS

• Firsthand evidence • Created by participants, witnesses• Require critical examination

UCLA Institute on Primary Resources, http://ipr.ues.gseis.ucla.edu/info/definition.html

CULTURAL REPOSITORIES

EXAMPLES

• Libraries• Archives• Museums• Historical Societies

CULTURAL REPOSITORIES

ISSUES

• Stewardship• Curation• Preservation, Security• Description, Arrangement,

Organization• ACCESS, USE

CULTURAL REPOSITORIES

CHALLENGES FOR K-12 USERS

• Limited hours• Travel• Space, facilities• Preservation & Handling

DIGITAL LIBRARIES

DEFINITION

A digital library consists of digital objects that are selected and organized to facilitate their discovery, access, and use. Objects, metadata, and the user interface together create the user experience of a collection.

Adapted from A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections: A NISO Recommended Practice, http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/framework3.pdf

DIGITAL LIBRARIESBRIEF HISTORY

• 1980s Pre-internet automation• 1994 Digital Library Initiative (NSF,

NASA)• 1990s “Boutique projects”• 2000s More systematic, sustainable

Fox, Edward A. Digital Libraries Overview. http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~h3004fox/Overview.htm

Li, Bin. The History of Digital Libraries. http://www.ils.unc.edu/~lib/digital-library.html

http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/1-b:_History_of_digital_libraries,_and_library_automation

DIGITAL LIBRARIES

SOME OF MY FAVORITES

British Library http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/index.html

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/

DIGITAL LIBRARIES

OTHERS OF INTEREST TO THIS COURSE

Library of Congresshttp://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Center for History and New Mediahttp://chnm.gmu.edu/teaching-and-learning/

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT

http://cdi.uvm.edu