Creating virtual collections in digital libraries

Abstract

Digital libraries have the potential to not only duplicate many of the services provided by traditional libraries but to extend them. Basic finding aids such as search and browse are common in most of today's digital libraries. But just as a traditional library provides more than a card catalog and browseable shelves of books, an effective digital library should offer a wider range of services.Using the traditional library concept of special collections as a model, in this paper we propose that explicitly defining sub-collections in the digital library-virtual collections-can benefit both the library's users and contributors and increase its viability. We first introduce the concept of a virtual collection, outline the costs and benefits for defining such collections, and describe an implementation of collection-level metadata to create virtual collections for two different digital libraries. We conclude by discussing the implications of virtual collections for enhancing interoperability and sharing across digital libraries, such as those that are part of the National SMETE Digital Library.

Evaluating Descriptive Richness in Collection-Level Metadata

“…As digital content continues to grow and be reconfigured, relational attributes in collection-level metadata specifying associations between a given collection and its various sub-, super-and otherwise related collections will be essential, not only for discovering resources within single repositories, but also across institutions, and across different domains. Foulonneau et al (2005), Geisler et al (2002) provide supporting evidence from a study of metadata harvested from Committee for Institutional Cooperation (CIC) 3 institutions, showing that linking item-level and collection-level metadata can:…”

Incorporating Physical and Digital Artifacts into Growing Personal Collections

“…Geisler, et al, [13] propose bringing the concept of special collections from physical libraries into digital libraries. They discuss the benefits accruing to both users and collections from enabling "virtual collections."…”

Contextual Metadata in Digital Aggregations: Application of Collection-Level Subject Metadata and Its Role in User Interactions and Information Retrieval

“…Linking collection-level and item-level metadata helps produce higher retrieval rates for item-level descriptions, re-contextualize orphaned items by including key access points that might be lacking in item-level metadata into collection-level metadata, and facilitate browsing behavior (Foulonneau, Cole, Habing, & Shreeves, 2005). Relational attributes specifying relations between a given digital collection and its various sub-and super-collections are essential in collection-level metadata, as these attributes have a capacity to greatly improve the navigability (Geisler, Giersch, McArthur, & McCelland, 2002).…”