A vision of the future
for digital libraries
(above: William Ritschel, Monterey
Coast, after 1911, oil on canvas, Dayton Art Institute. Public
domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Traditional Fine Arts Organization
(TFAO) visualizes a bright future for virtual libraries.
TFAO encourages other nonprofit organizations to expand content repositories
within the visual arts. Further specialized topics might include:
- Architecture
- Art history in other nations
- Conceptual art
- Ethnic art
- Audio recordings of speeches
- Narrated slide shows
- Interpretive movies [1]
Opportunities abound for further development of digital
library services. Digital libraries may prefer to specialize in some but
not all functions. They may want to provide or receive services such as
digital conversion, content selection and acquisition, reference librarian
service and lending programs. Some examples are listed below.
Cooperative programs for cost-efficient
conversion of analog materials to digital format
- TFAO has analyzed the methods and costs of digitizing
analog media in its Digitizing Initiatives
report. A cooperative program to provide economies of scale for digitizing
processes would be beneficial.
-
Human and robotic content selection
systems tailored to the visual arts
- Cooperative content master planning for visual arts digital
libraries could lead to lessened content redundancy and optimize subject
coverage.
-
Cooperative human reference librarian
services for digital libraries
- GMILCS, Inc. a consortium of nine public libraries and three academic libraries
in New Hampshire, has contracted with 24/7 Reference to provide online
and after-hours reference service to its thousands of clients. The service,
called "Answers Here and Now," allows library patrons to ask
questions and get answers, in real time, on the Internet, from a live reference
librarian. This means that a library patron with access to the Internet
can link to a real librarian no matter what day of the week or time of
day. Students and faculty of the New Hampshire Institute of Art, an academic
consortium member, using the NHIA 24/7 link will be speaking to an Academic
Librarian rather than a Public Librarian.
-
- The New York Public Library has a "chat
with a librarian" feature. This service is for NYPL patrons. There
could be a nationally or regionally focused non-profit organization that
would give individuals assistance in using digital libraries, provide search
tips or more in-depth assistance. Inquiries could be made through chat,
email or phone options. A reference librarian might be asked if there is
a way to search a specific college website. The librarian could refer the
person to Google's University Search. For persons requiring assistance
beyond the reference librarian's level of service the person could be directed
to a service such as Google Answers which brokers advice based on
an online auction model.
-
- AskNow provides information without charge from expert reference librarians
at over 100 "brick-and-mortar" libraries throughout California
-- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Questions may also be answered by librarians
in other states through 24/7 Reference.
-
-
- Below are types of help services, as of November, 2004,
provided by 21 public digital libraries. Legend: 1 = 800 number; 2 = local
phone number; 3 = email; 4 = online chat; if American art titles = AA +
number of titles (Only one library, the Denver Public Library, owned an
American art eBook title)
-
- New York Public Library: 2, 3, 4
- http://ebooks.nypl.org
-
- The Ferguson Library (CT): 3
- http://stamford.lib.overdrive.com
-
- Michigan Library Consortium (MI): 3
- http://ebooks.mlcnet.org
-
- Cherry Hill Public Library (NJ): 3
- http://cherryhill.lib.overdrive.com
-
- Broome County Public Library (NY); 3
- http://ebooks.bclibrary.info
-
- White Plains Public Library (NY): 3
- http://digital.whiteplainslibrary.org
-
- Las Vegas-Clark County Library District (NV): 3
- http://ebooks.lvccld.org
-
- Park Ridge Public Library (IL): 3
- http://parkridge.lib.overdrive.com
-
- Camden County Library System (NJ): 3
- http://ebooks.camdencountylibrary.org
-
- Denver Public Library (CO); 3; AA = 1
- http://ebooks.denverlibrary.org
-
- SEO -- Southeastern Ohio Automation Consortium (OH):
3
- http://seoebook.seo.lib.oh.us
-
- Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center (IL): 3
- http://ebooks.mitbc.org/
-
- Starkville Public Library System (MS): 3
- http://ebooks.starkville.lib.ms.us/
-
- Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH): 3
- http://ebcd.cuyahogalibrary.org/
-
- Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (OH):
3
- http://ebooks.libraryvisit.org/
-
- Wright Memorial Public Library (OH): 3
- http://ebooks.wright.lib.oh.us/
-
- Burlington County Library System (NJ): 3
- http://ebooks.bcls.lib.nj.us/
-
- Metro Net Library Consortium (MI): 3
- http://ebooks.metronet.lib.mi.us/
-
- San Jose Public Library (CA): 3
- http://ebooks.sjlibrary.org/
-
- King County Library System (WA): 3
- http://ebooks.kcls.org/
-
- Cleveland Public Library (OH): 3
- http://dlc.clevnet.org/
-
-
A cost-effective eBooks cooperative
lending or referral program
- TFAO envisions support for an in-house American art eBooks
lending program when sufficient titles become available. Rather than contracting
with a vendor to provide a hosting and maintenance system, TFAO would prefer
to:
-
- -- financially contribute to eBook purchases or short-term
circulation (rental) arrangements with another digital library along with
a hosting arrangement allowing TFAO's library patrons to check-out titles
it paid for, or
-
- -- enter into an agreement with a library which has already
acquired a collection of eBooks, allowing TFAO to list on its website specific
titles held by the repository and also allowing TFAO's library patrons
to borrow (interlibrary loan) the eBooks from the other library on a pass-through
cost basis, [2] or
-
- -- list eBooks available in other digital libraries and
refer patrons to public or university libraries providing eBook inter-library
loan arrangements, or
-
- -- refer the patron to a vendor for direct rental of
a title.
-
Notes:
1. The Internet Archive,
a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, is "...a digital library
of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper
library, we provide free access to researchers, historians,
scholars, and the general public." The Digital Archive catalogues,
archives and provides digital versions of audio and moving images media
as well as texts. As of November 2004 the moving images collection included
1,998 movie files, 554 episodes of the PBS series Computer Chronicles,
119 computer animations, 152 episodes of Net Café, and other
movies. Because of the method by which TFAO's information is stored, TFAO
and TFAO's predecessor pages posted since January 15, 1998 are archived
via archive.org. (right: Internet
Archive Wayback Machine logo courtesy Internet Archive)
2. Jens Vigen, of CERN and Kari Paulson, of eBooks Corporation
authored a paper in PDF format titled E-books and interlibrary loan: An
academic centric model for lending. The paper reports "on the initial
scenarios for integrating electronic books in the interlibrary loan service,
taking into account viable business models for all involved parties: authors,
publishers, booksellers, libraries and end users."
Go to
Links to sources of information
outside of our web site are provided only as referrals for your further
consideration. Please use due diligence in judging the quality of information
contained in these and all other web sites. Information from linked sources
may be inaccurate or out of date. TFAO neither recommends or endorses these
referenced organizations. Although TFAO includes links to other web sites,
it takes no responsibility for the content or information contained on those
other sites, nor exerts any editorial or other control over them. For more
information on evaluating web pages see TFAO's General Resources section in Online Resources for Collectors and Students of
Art History.
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