This is a presentation of 8 slides at the ASIST 2005 Annual Meeting in the session on Progress in the Design and Evaluation of Digital Libraries.

This paper surveys university libraries, special libraries, public libraries, the National Library and school libraries in Thailand about their digital collections and services.

We consider ideas for a tighter integration of searching a digital library while writing a paper. A prototype system based on web services is described which allows us to explore the design space of ambient search tools to support and inspire the writing process.

A prototype system is available at http://pira.isrl.uiuc.edu / We consider ideas for a tighter integration of searching a digital library while writing a paper. A prototype system based on web services is described which allows us to explore the design space of ambient search tools to support and inspire the writing process. * A prototype system is available at http://pira.isrl.uiuc.edu

This is an online version of the book Digital Libraries published by the MIT Press in January 2000. The text of the book is copyrighted by the MIT Press (please see copyright notice and details at end of this abstract). Here is an excerpt from the book's Preface by the author, William Arms, dated June 2005: This online edition of Digital Libraries is an updated version of the book of the same name published by the M.I.T. Press in January 2000. I am extremely grateful to the press for giving me permission to place it online even while the book is still in print. The field of Digital Libraries is moving rapidly. Most of this book was written in 1998 and many sections are now seriously out of date. In particular: * In the few years since the book was written, there have been some major developments. Important topics that need to be updated or included for the first time include the emergence of XML, the dominance of Google, reference linking, the Internet Archive, the Open Archives Initiative, and many more. * Numerous details need to be brought up to date. * A few projects have come to an end and a few topics have proved to be less important than expected. They need to be deleted or give less emphasis. * The book does not have a bibliography, because, only a few years ago, nobody had confidence in the longevity of URLs. Now it is clear that many online collections are managed for the long term and can be cited with confidence. * Our understanding has developed. In some aspects, uncertainties have been resolved; in others the complexities seem to have grown. There is less need to be an advocate for digital libraries. Despite being out of date in these ways, the major themes and much of the material remains valuable. In particular, the importance of understanding the human and social context while carrying out technical work remains the heart of all work in digital libraries." COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This material has been placed on the Web for use by the general public, subject to the following: Copyright License This copyright license is provided by Creative Commons. The key license terms are: * Attribution. The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. In return, licensees must give the original author and publisher credit. * Noncommercial. The licensor permits others to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. In return, licensees may not use the work for commercial purposes -- unless they get the licensor's permission.

Digital resources are becoming a common medium to address patron and library staff needs. There are a number of means and applications used to satisfy information demands. These include digital reference materials, and the reference persons that provide access to these objects, information and instruction web sites and, multi-media applications and displays. These applications provide a fairly thorough means for meeting the information demands of faculty, staff, and patrons. But there are some information needs relating to complex, implicit, or specialized knowledge that arenâ t readily addressed end-to-end by typical information publishing and knowledge management and instructional methods. This paper uses information theory principles to provide a framework for identifying some of the limitations of current information delivery methods in terms of their relevance to modern library reference and information services. In addition there is an explanation of blog technology, with suggestions for enhancing library information services. Last, some cautions for using blogs is discussed.

Poster paper. In Chinese. / The paper introduces a general digital resource management system. It elaborates on the core design and components of the system. The general digital resource management system was developed based on the Fedora system, and incorporates the concept of virtual collections. The system is composed of seven models: rights management, collection management, resource access, resource tagging, interoperability, and customization.

Citation for the accompanying article: Dalbello, Marija. (2005). "A Phenomenological Study of an Emergent National Digital Library, Part II: Narratives of Development," The Library Quarterly 75 (4), pp. e28-e70. / This article focuses on the activities surrounding the National Digital Library Program (NDLP) at the Library of Congress (1995-2000) to identify modalities of successful innovation and the characteristics of creative decision making. Theories of social change and organizational rationality, and the social construction of technology (SCOT) approaches provided the theoretical basis for this study. The underlying design for a phenomenological approach is discussed, together with the method for constructing a descriptive narrative that synthesizes the phenomenon under study (an emergent national digital library program). Theory, methodology, data collection, and the summary of findings with implications for practice are presented here. The accompanying article (Part II, dLIST item number 1635) presents the narratives of development, applying the interpretive phenomenological framework to document the innovators' perspectives about this formative event.

Digitization of the resources of the libraries and the information centres has become very essential for preservation as well as better access of the resources. Here an overview has been given about the basic requirements needed to start a digitization project. These include the hardwares and the softwares and some of the important technical issues.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has set-up a â Consortia-based Subscription to Electronic Resources for Technical Education System in Indiaâ on the recommendations made by the Expert Group appointed by the ministry. The consortium is named as the Indian National Digital Library in Science and Technology (INDEST) Consortium. The INDEST Consortium has commenced its operation since Dec., 2002 through its headquarters at the IIT Delhi. The Consortium subscribes to full-text electronic resources and bibliographic databases for 38 leading engineering and technological institutions in India including IITs (7), IISc (1), NITs / RECs (17), IIMs (6) and a few other institutions directly funded by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). While the expenditure on electronic resources proposed for subscription under the consortium for these 38 institutions are being met from the funds made available by the MHRD, the consortium being an open-ended proposition, welcomes all other institutions to join it on their own for sharing benefits it offers in terms of highly discounted subscription rates and better terms of agreement with the publishers. Moreover, beneficiary institutions may also subscribe to additional electronic resources through the consortium that are not being funded by the MHRD. This article introduces the INDEST Consortium, its activities and services.