Recent Developments in the Design, Construction and Evaluation of Digital Libraries
A book edited by Dr. Colleen Cool and Dr. Kwong Bor Ng
Queens College, City University of New York
Introduction
Over the past two decades there has been an evolutionary change in the world of libraries from mostly print based collections to today's current environment in which the phrase digital library is no longer new, but rather, is synonymous with library itself. Scholars and practicing librarians continually grapple with issues and challenges as the digital library continues to evolve and change the library landscape. Chapters in this volume will address recent developments in the design, construction and evaluation of digital libraries in a variety of library environments.
Emphasis will be on practical strategies and lessons learned from real world case studies. A context for understanding current trends will be created by an introductory historical framework that discusses the evolution of digital libraries and a unifying framework that looks at digital library users, content and evaluation. Authors will include academics and practicing professionals, with strong representation from the international community.
Objective
This volume will include the diverse writings of designers, content builders and valuation specialists in the digital libraries arena, in order that scholars and practitioners have a unified and better understanding of this multifaceted topic area. This work will inform both theory and practice, with the following objectives:
• Presenting a critical analysis of the subject to assist faculty and practicing librarians;
• Presenting case studies displaying innovation and creative use of technology in libraries in and outside of the United States?
• Bringing to the attention of scholars and practitioners the global perspectives on digital libraries represented in these practical case studies;
• Synthesizing current approaches to the evaluation of digital libraries, from both user and system oriented approaches;
Target Audience
The target audience of this book will be composed of professionals and researchers working in the field of digital libraries and electronic archives. Moreover, this book will provide faculty and graduate students in LIS programs a thorough and comprehensive reference for teaching and learning of the growing area of digital librarianship.
Recommended topics discussed in the case studies include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Competing concepts of the digital library
• Essential components of a digital library
• Evaluation metrics and library services of digital library
• Approaches to user-centered digital library design, lessons learned and challenges ahead
• For whom are digital libraries being created, and for what purpose?
• Digital libraries for Individuals, Communities and Societies
• Digital collection building, collection development policy and content management
• Techniques for creating collections
• Traditional and novel methods for evaluating digital libraries from system-oriented and user-centric perspectives
• Library services in digital library environments
• Changes and future challenges in digital librarianship
Submission Procedure
Full chapters (7000+ words) are expected to be submitted by Aug 15, 2011. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global, publisher of the "Information Science Reference", as part of the book series, Advances in Library Information Science (ALIS), edited by Mirela Roncevic. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com.
Proposals for chapters should be sent to both:
Colleen Cool: colleen.cool@gmail.com
Kwong bor Ng: kwongbor@gmail.com
