Exploring Digital Libraries: Foundations, Practice, Prospects

摘要

Exploring Digital Libraries: Foundations, Practice, Prospects is a well-organized and timely new book. Soon retiring from her position as an assistant university librarian at the University of Pittsburgh, author Karen Calhoun is an experienced librarian, researcher, and writer with strong credentials in metadata management and digital libraries. She takes a broad and international perspective, having interviewed many distinguished scholars and practitioners and incorporated their views. One chapter reports the results of interviews with nine digital library experts on successful projects in their communities. The experts offer insights as to why some digital libraries are long-lived while others fade into memory. Calhoun reviews a vast amount of literature and includes important topics such as the Semantic Web, linked data, and cloud technology. As Calhoun indicates, the Semantic Web, which provides common formats to facilitate the exchange of data, is growing rapidly and applications built upon it are beginning to appear, but its evolution is still in the early stages. Legal issues such as intellectual property rights and licensing terms and conditions, essential for understanding digital libraries, are also reviewed. Exploring Digital Libraries includes a glossary and an extensive list of references.