John Palfrey presents an update on the DPLA.
“The idea is that we’ll have a DPLA by the spring of 2013. Obviously much stands between here and there in terms of hard work, building consensus, talking to lots of people, raising money and so forth, but I’m confident that we’re on a great track for it.”
From John Palfrey’s video, “June update from John Palfrey on The Digital Public Library of America”
Karen Coyle looks towards the future of digital libraries.
“It’s not enough for libraries to gather, store and preserve huge masses of information resources. We have to be actively engaged with users and potential users, and that engagement includes providing ways for them to find and to use the resources libraries have. We must provide the entry point that brings users to information materials without that access being mediated through a commercial revenue model. So for every HathiTrust or DPLA that focuses on the resources we need a related project — equally well-funded — that focuses on users and access. Not just creating a traditional library-type catalog but providing a whole host of services that will help uses find and explore the digital library. This interface needs to be part search engine, part individual work space, and part social networking. Users should be able to do their research, store their personal library (getting into Memex territory here), share their work with others, engage in conversations, and perhaps even manage complex research projects.”
From Karen Coyle’s post on “Coyle’s InFormation,” “Dystopias”
The Internet Archive discusses its recent expansion.
“[T]he Internet Archive announced that the 1,000th library from 6 countries has joined its In-Library eBook Lending Program. Led by the Internet Archive, patrons may borrow eBooks from a new, cooperative 100,000+ eBook lending collection of mostly 20th century books on OpenLibrary.org, a site where it’s already possible to read over 1 million eBooks without restriction. During a library visit, patrons with an OpenLibrary.org account can borrow any of these lendable eBooks using laptops, reading devices or library computers. This new twist on the traditional lending model could increase eBook use and revenue for publishers.”
From The Internet Archive blog post, “In-Library eBook Lending Program Expands to 1,000 Libraries”
Loretta Gharst weighs the pros and cons of cloud computing for libraries.
“To put it simply, libraries use the cloud to store backups remotely, create and offer access to remote hosted digital collections, online services and various online applications. The pro is that the cloud is currently less expensive than maintaining traditional in library hardware and software requiring specialized technology staffing to operate. The dark side of cloud computing is losing access due to the remote host becoming unavailable as in the remote host location being in a natural disaster or power outage or having a significant network/technology problem.”
From Loretta Gharst’s post on the PLA Blog, “Libraries in the Cloud”
Chuck Henry writes about the potential of a DPLA.
“A Digital Public Library of America would be most useful if it were modeled as a service that effectively and creatively responds to our ever-mutable and polysemous questions. The DPLA would aggregate, but not own or maintain, vast amounts of digital content of the widest-possible variety of media, formats, and historical sweep. It would provide standards and protocols for ongoing development and refinement of applications that help us find information pertaining to our questions. Fundamentally, the DPLA would accommodate the voices, experiences, and organizations we know and, at the same time, make it possible for us to transcend them.”
From Chuck Henry’s piece in the CLIR Issues Newsletter, “An Enclosure of Spirits”