subject: digital library collections
Digital Library Federation
digital collectionsNEWS
RELEASEFor Immediate Release: March 1, 2002
Contact: Daniel Greenstein 202-939-4762
DLF Endorses Two New Aids For Developing Digital Library Collections
WASHINGTON, D.C.The Digital Library Federation (DLF) has formally
endorsed new aids of two kinds to help research libraries achieve
quality in digitizing books and other material for online use. One
is a set of principles for good digital collections. The other is
a set of technical specifications for achieving fidelity in digitizing
items for such collections.
The DLF, a consortium of 28 research institutions, uses endorsements
to promote attention to standards and best practices of use to its
members and others involved in digital library development.
The newly endorsed principles for digital collections are embodied
in a paper entitled, “A Framework of Guidance for Building Good
Digital Collections.” Members of a Digital Library Forum convened
by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) produced the
framework. They intend that grant applicants to IMLS and other federal
agencies will use it, not as a set of requirements but as a resource
for developing good digital objects, metadata, collections, and projects.
Standards of “goodness” in the principles embrace not only
how useful and accessible digital materials are but also how fully
they may be interoperable, reusable, and enduring (persistent). The
principles also incorporate needs for verification, documentation,
and respect for intellectual property laws. The IMLS framework is
online at http://www.imls.gov/pubs/forumframework.htm.
The DLF endorsement statement is athttps://old.diglib.org/standards/imlsframe.htm.
The technical specifications for digital fidelity are in a paper
entitled, “Benchmark for Digital Reproductions of Monographs
and Serials.” A group convened by the DLF on preservation reformatting
practices produced the benchmark, which identifies minimum level
characteristics for digital page images contained in a preservation
digital master. Libraries that meet or exceed these specifications
in reformatting books and other holdings for online use will ensure
their collections of interoperability with others. Patrons will be
able to access books and serial publications digitally copied and
managed at different sites with assurance of fidelity to originals.
The benchmark paper as endorsed by the DLF is accessible online at http://www.diglib.org/standards/bmarkfin.htm.
The Digital Library Federation is a consortium of libraries and
related agencies that are pioneering in the use of electronic-information
technologies to extend their collections and services. Through its
members, the DLF provides leadership to libraries broadly by
- identifying standards and “best practices” for digital
collections and network access - coordinating leading-edge research and development and
- helping start projects and services that libraries need but cannot
develop individually.
The DLF operates under the administrative umbrella of the Council
on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) in Washington, D.C. For
more information visit http://www.diglib.org or
call 202-939-4750.
