Digital Libraries: Principles and Practice in a Global Environment

Citation

Foster, W. (2006), "Digital Libraries: Principles and Practice in a Global Environment", Program: electronic library and information systems, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 99-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/00330330610646852

Lucy Tedd and Andrew Large have written a number of books on aspects of library automation over the years, and they now turn their attention to the digital library, perhaps the library profession's hottest topic at the present time. In the preface, the authors state that their goal is “to introduce readers to the principles underlying digital libraries, as well as to illustrate these principles by reference to a wide range of practices throughout the world”.

 As a lecturer in this very subject I know how difficult it is to strike a balance between theory and practice, and, in particular, to decide how far to go when discussing technical issues. I think the authors have succeeded admirably in getting the balance right and have produced a worthwhile addition to the subject's rapidly growing body of literature. The order of material makes the book highly suitable for a module on digital libraries, and the fact that the book's origins are to be found in an international graduate summer school, delivered by the authors, comes through clearly, and has obviously been beneficial to the book's production.

There are nine extensive chapters, each of which covers considerable ground. The first is a scene setting chapter, placing digital libraries in context. Chapters 2‐8 cover specific topics on users and services, digital information sources, standards and interoperability, organising access, interface design, searching and browsing, and practical issues such as consortia, intellectual property rights and preservation. However, it is fair to point out that important practical issues are not confined to this one chapter but are discussed throughout the book as appropriate. The final chapter, devoted to case studies, is truly international in scope, with examples from the UK, Singapore, Sri Lanka and North America. Indeed, the international flavour pervades the book with a diverse range of examples included in each of the chapters.

One of the things I particularly like is the authors' acknowledgement that digital libraries have not emerged fully formed overnight, but their development has been incremental and based upon earlier automated and electronic library developments. This is helpful to readers unfamiliar with the new digital developments, but with knowledge of existing library and information systems.

The book is well written and presented, with copious screenshots illustrating the digital library examples discussed. References are provided at the end of each chapter rather than in a consolidated list at the end, which I feel is a slight drawback for identifying key writers in the field. However, the references are very current given the usual publishing time‐lag. There is a serviceable index and a helpful list of acronyms. Overall this is a highly readable and timely book, and is ideal for students studying this subject in depth. I have already recommended it to my own students.