Editorial: Whether a digital library qualifies as a “library”

Citation

Tammaro, A.M. (2024), "Editorial: Whether a digital library qualifies as a “library”", Digital Library Perspectives, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 157-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-05-2024-146

Digital libraries and traditional libraries share the common goal of facilitating access to information and promoting knowledge dissemination. Therefore, digital libraries are considered a type of library, albeit one that operates within the digital realm and leverages digital technologies to serve users in the digital age. Whether a digital library qualifies as a “library” can be argued from various perspectives, each offering different lines of thought. They play a crucial role in supporting research, education and lifelong learning by offering access to a wide range of scholarly and educational resources. Just like traditional libraries, digital libraries serve the needs of diverse user communities, including researchers, students, educators, professionals and the general public. The definition and vision of a digital library can vary depending on the perspective of different stakeholders.

Here are several definitions and visions of digital libraries:

Extension of traditional library: Digital libraries serve as virtual extensions of traditional libraries, offering remote access to resources and services that mirror those found in physical libraries, such as cataloging, searching, browsing and borrowing. Digital libraries also foster collaboration and interoperability among libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions to collectively build and maintain digital collections. They facilitate resource-sharing agreements, metadata standards and interoperability protocols to enhance the discoverability, accessibility and usability of digital resources across different platforms and systems.

User-centered and personalized services: Digital libraries prioritize user needs and preferences, offering personalized services and tailored experiences to enhance user engagement and satisfaction. They are community-driven platforms that empower users to create, share and preserve digital content and knowledge relevant to their interests, needs and cultural contexts.

Digital libraries engage communities in co-creating and curating digital resources, fostering grassroots initiatives and local knowledge repositories that reflect the diversity and richness of human experiences.

They can serve as hubs of innovation, supporting research, education and creative endeavors in digital humanities, computational research, text mining, data visualization and other emerging fields.

Access and accessibility: Digital libraries aim to provide equitable access to information and knowledge regardless of geographical location, socioeconomic status or physical limitations. They leverage digital technologies to overcome barriers to access and enhance inclusivity and accessibility for diverse user communities.

Global knowledge network: A digital library is a networked environment that connects users to a global pool of knowledge and information resources, enabling collaborative knowledge creation, sharing and exchange across geographic, cultural and disciplinary boundaries.

Digital libraries embrace the principles of open access and open knowledge, advocating for the free and unrestricted access to scholarly research, educational resources and cultural heritage materials. They support open access publishing, open educational resources and open data initiatives to promote transparency, collaboration and innovation in the dissemination of knowledge.

These definitions and visions highlight the multifaceted nature of digital libraries as dynamic and evolving ecosystems that encompass a broad spectrum of resources, services and stakeholders. Whether viewed as extensions of traditional libraries, repositories of knowledge and culture, networks of global collaboration, spaces for digital scholarship, community-driven platforms or repositories of open educational resources, digital libraries play a vital role in facilitating access to information, promoting knowledge creation and advancing research, education and cultural enrichment in the digital age.

In this issue of Digital Library Perspectives, we describe examples of the digital transformation that is taking place in digital libraries. The extension of accessibility to users with disabilities and users’ reading preferences during flights are described together with opportunities and challenges for librarians posed in a digital context by big data and immersive technologies. Digital libraries facilitate collaboration and interaction among users through online forums, discussion boards and social media platforms. Scholars explore new methodologies, analyze large datasets and enhance scholarly communication through digital libraries which contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

Fostering accessibility is the problem that Alenka Kavčič Čolić and Andreja Hari try to overcome in “Improving the accessibility of digitalization results: research results from the EODOPEN project.” The format currently predominant in collection digitization projects is PDF, which is not suitable for the blind and visually impaired or people who read on mobile devices. Alternative file formats are needed to meet the needs of all communities. With research findings from the EODOPEN (eBooks-On-Demand-Network Opening Publications for European Netizens) project, this study makes suggestions on how to improve access to digitized content for everybody.

A. Subaveerapandiyan, Natharajan Sakthivel, Mohammad Amees and Upasana Yadav “Global perspectives: library professionals’ views on multimedia books in airlines” investigate the potential impact and passengers’ perception of integrating multimedia books into airline services, aiming to clarify the landscape in evolution of in-flight entertainment and reading experiences. A quantitative research methodology was used, using a structured questionnaire distributed to speakers from the International Federation of Library Associations.

Nina Mayesti, Chen Hao Huang, Aviazka Firdhaussi Azmir, Diah Melati Adzani focus on immersive technologies in libraries in Indonesia. Their paper “Librarians’ views of the readiness of university libraries in Indonesia to adopt virtual and augmented reality” aims to determine the extent of adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in university libraries in Indonesia and identify the librarians’ opinions on the immersive technologies. The results focus on two crucial dimensions: the availability of the library, measured by commitment and effectiveness, and the availability of the librarian, assessed through cognitive and affective aspects.

Morteza Mohammadi Ostani, Jafar Ebadollah Amoughin and Mohadeseh Jalili Manaf aim to adapt thesis-type properties on Schema.org in “Enrichment of Schema.org with cultural heritage context standards for the description and processing of electronic theses and dissertations.” They are using templates and standards metadata (MS) (such as Bibframe, Electronic theses and dissertations [ETD]-MS, Common European Research Information Format [CERIF] and Dublin Core [DC]) This study has offered some new thesis-type properties and CreativeWork levels on Schema.org.

Tariq Rasheed and Shamshad Ahmed in “Online information retrieval self-efficacy of professional librarians: a predictor of user satisfaction in university libraries” aim to test online information retrieval self-efficacy among library professionals in predicting satisfaction of patrons within universities’ libraries. The results emphasized the distinct and substantial significance of three variables: physiological states, social feedback and mastery experience, in predicting the satisfaction of library patrons.

Ranjeet Kumar Singh in “Developing a big data analytics platform using Apache Hadoop ecosystem to provide big data services in libraries” focuses on the application of big data in digital libraries. Although big data challenges are increasing, the question of the most suitable big data analytics (BDA) platform in libraries is an ever-significant one. The purpose of this study is to propose a solution to this problem. This study identifies relevant literature and provides an updated perspective on the adoption of big data in libraries. It also presents a step-by-step guide for developing a BDA platform using the Apache Hadoop ecosystem.

Yusuf Ayodeji Ajani, Emmanuel Kolawole Adefila, Shuaib Agboola Olarongbe, Rexwhite Tega Enakrire and Nafisa Rabiu in “Big data and the management of libraries in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: implications for policymakers” examine big data and library management in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its implications for policymakers in Nigeria. Librarians generally express favorable opinions concerning the relevance of big data, acknowledging its capacity to enhance decision-making, optimize services and deliver personalized user experiences. This study exclusively focuses on the Nigerian context, overlooking insights from other African countries.

Zahid Ashraf Wani and Ahmad Majid investigate how libraries use Twitter as a social media platform in “A study on social visibility and engagement of world-renowned libraries on Twitter.” They examine the tweets they post, including multimedia content such as images and video clips. This study provides a detailed analysis of the tweets that generate user engagement.

Ishrat Ayub Sofi, Ajra Bhat, Rahat Gulzar “Global status of dataset repositories at a glance: study based on OpenDOAR” investigate the current state of “dataset repositories” indexed in the Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR). Most data set archives are OAI-PMH compliant but do not follow open-access rules. The work has the potential to benefit both researchers in general and policymakers in particular.

Emily Sawe, Naomi Mwai and Oyieke Lilian in “Nurturing doctoral excellence: effective strategies for research support services in public university libraries of Kenya” focus on research support services in recognized public universities in Kenya (private universities were not included). The objectives of the study are to examine the approaches used by university libraries to improve the visibility and use of research support services (RSSs) among doctoral students and to evaluate the skills of library staff in providing research support services.

The Digital Library Perspectives issue concludes with an interview with Emanuele Bellini on the topic of cyber security for digital libraries. The emerging field of cyber resilience can be understood as a blend of strategies, methods and techniques to support the complex adaptive capacity of the digital libraries during cyberattacks. We have interviewed Emanuele Bellini to understand cybersecurity risks, strategies and best practices.