imagine a national digital library: i wonder if we can

8/7/2019 Imagine a National Digital Library: I Wonder If We Can

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Recently,unexpectedly,ImcompletelykeenongoingtoKorea.Why?

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BecauseImdyingtoseetheseguysintheirnaturalhabitat.TheseareD.to,N.to,and

U.to.TheyarethemascotsfortheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKorea,alsocalledthe

dibrary,whichopeneditsdoors(yes,doors)inSeoulonMay25th,2009.According

tothedibraryswebsite,SmartD.toisadigitalknowledgemessengerwhosearches

fortheinformaEonyourequire.D.toisblue,afuturisEccolor,andrepresentsthe

messengerdeliveringnecessarydigitalknowledge.N.to,thegreenmascot,lovesnatureandgreenideas,andsymbolizesthefreedomoftheworldofknowledge.

Andtheredmascotiswarm-heartedU.to,whosymbolizestheguidancetothe

ubiquitousworld,whowillbewithusatanywhereandanyEme.

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Youhavetoadmirethecharmofofditchingadrymissionstatementforatrioof

brightly-colored21st-centuryallegoricalfiguresasrococoasanybe-drapednymphor

undrapedcherubintheLibraryofCongress.

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Youalsohavetoadmirepeoplewhowouldliterallybuildadigitallibrarywithasign

outinfrontidenEfyingitassuch.TheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreatookseven

yearstobuild,atacosttotheKoreangovernmentofabout$112milliondollarsUS,

andbysomeaccountsitcontainsover116millionpiecesofdigitalcontent,which

wouldmakeitalmosteightEmesaslargeastheuropeanadigitallibrary,which

claims15millionitems.That116millionnumber,however,isprobablybasedonadefiniEonofpiecesofdigitalcontentthatincludes(say)databaserecords,andis

thereforenotmeasuredinthesameunitsasmostdigitallibraries.Butreportsalso

tesEfy,morebelievably,thatthedibraryhasdigiEzed380,000books,andthatisa

veryrespectablenumber,onelargerthanthe300,000ebooksofferedforleaseby

NetLibrary,forinstance.

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TheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreaisaneight-storybuilding(fiveofthosestories

underground)thatseats550patrons,anditruns300TBofserverspace.Thephysical

spaceandtheequipmentaresoadvancedastoseemalmostficEonal.Onthemain

floor,picturedhere,therearetouch-screenhelpkiosks.Thereare3Dmonitorsthat

donotrequireviewerstowear3Dglasses.ThereisaGlobalLoungerunningPCsin

nglish,Chinese,Japanese,French,andVietnamese.TherearemulEmediaviewingandcreaEonandediEngspacesaswellasmeeEngandcafspaces.

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Therearemoretouch-screenkiosks,thesededicatedtothesolepurposeofreading

digitalnewspapers.Thereareelectronictableswithtouch-screensurfaces,andon

thosetablesyoucansee

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digitalsurrogatesofhistoricKoreanbooksastheylieopenflatbeforeyou,seemingly

inthetableratherthanonit.

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ThereisapermanentartinstallaEonthatdisplayscustomizedvideosbasedonauser

recogniEonfuncEon.Thereisanenormousscreenreservedonlyfor3Dtext,

includingusermessages.ThereisaLaptopZone,andthereisaProducEvity

ComputerClusterwhosedesktopcomputershavelargemonitorsandmulEple

monitors.

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ThereisaconnecEngbridgecalledtheWayofKnowledgethatconnectstheNaEonal

DigitalLibraryofKoreawiththeNaEonalLibraryofKorea,andprojectedonthewalls

oftheWayofKnowledgearemoEon-sensiEveinteracEvecontents.

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Andthereis,ofcourse,D.to,N.to,andU.to.Getmydri?Feelasuddenlongingtogo

toKorea?

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ButtheKoreandibraryisnotjustaboutfancyphysicalspacesorsymboliccartooncharacters:itsverymuchaboutprovidingawholesetofnaEonallibraryservicesforKorea.InSeptember2009,justafewmonthsaerthedibraryfirstopened,KoreanlawwasalteredinordertogiveKoreandibrarianstheauthoritytocollectandindeedresponsibilityforcollecEngKoreandatafromtheopenweb.Certainkindsofdata

werelegallyrequiredtobedepositedinthenaEonaldigitallibrarysoastoenablenotonlypreservaEonbutalsotheproducEonanddistribuEonofalternaEvematerialsforthedisabled.NowcentrallycoordinatedbytheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreaareallkindsofdigitalservices,fromtrainingprogramstointerlibraryloan.ThedibraryisevenchargedwithcreaEngaonecardsystemthatgivesaccessto699publiclibrariesnaEonwide,asystemscheduledtogolivein2012.AndonceKoreahasfullynaEonalizedasmanylibrarymaterialsandservicesasitcan,itsapparentlynotgoingtostopthere:lastsummerameeEngwasheldtoplanaChina-Japan-KoreaDigitalLibrary,anAsiandigitallibraryorportalmodeledaerTheuropeanLibraryproject.Tomeitsoundslikethesecondsteptowardthesingledigitallibraryfiledcontentedlyawayinthehummingsystemsofthestarshipnterprise,waiEngtobeaddressedwithaquesEon:Computer...

ItisthenaEonalcharacteroftheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKoreathatledmetodiscoverit,nottheuniquephysicalityofitsdigitalitysoseducEvelycelebratedonFlickr.For,asyouallmaybeaware,thereistalk,serioustalk,ofbuildinganaEonaldigitallibraryfortheU.S.,thoughsofarallsuchdiscussionhasusedthetermbuildingmetaphorically.

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Infact,thefirstarEclelobbedintotherecentdiscussionofaU.S.naEonaldigital

libraryisEtledALibraryWithoutWalls,indicaEngthatitsauthorisusingthe

tradiEonaldefiniEonofadigitallibrary,theonethatdefinesadigitallibraryasstrictly

digital.RobertDarnton,thatpiecesauthor,isthedirectoroftheHarvardUniversity

Library.InOctoberof2010,heconvenedameeEngatHarvardof42top-level

representaEvesfromfoundaEons,culturalinsEtuEons,andthelibraryandscholarlyworldstodiscusshowtocreateanaEonaldigitallibraryfortheUnitedStates--

Thatis,acomprehensivelibraryofdigiEzedbooksthatwillbeeasilyaccessibleto

thegeneralpublic,ashewroteontheNewYorkReviewofBooks blogaerward.

DarntonmadenomenEonofabuilding,norKorea,andusermessagesdisplayedona

large3Dmonitorwereapparentlythefarthestthingfromhismind.Heevokedinstead

theRepublicofLeers,VoltaireandJeffersonandtheirnlightenmentidealsof

widelysharedknowledge.

Forallthat,DarntonsperspecEve,perhapsnaturallyenough,wasnotthatofthe

publiclibrarian.HisthoughtsaboutwhotoinvitetotheiniEalmeeEngdidnotrunto

publiclibrarians,andhedidnotimaginethatsuchaprojectcouldbefundedbythe

taxpayers,averringinsteadthatAcoaliEonoffoundaEons,universiEes,andother

nonprofitorganizaEonscouldbeformedtocoverthecosts.

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Similarly,inanOctoberinterviewwithJenniferHowardfortheChronicleofHigher

Educa:on,Darntonsaid,Oneofthefirstthingswediscussedwasthefinancial

problem.Itdidnttakelongforpeopletheretoarriveataconclusion,whichis:We

candoit.veryoneseemedconvincedthatthisiscertainlywithinthescopeofa

fundingcampaignbyfoundaEons.Grant-makinggovernmentfoundaEonssuchas

theNaEonalndowmentfortheHumaniEesandtheNaEonalScienceFoundaEonwereprobablyincludedinthatcategoryaswellasprivategrantorssuchasthe

AndrewW.MellonfoundaEon,butapartfromthatthereseemstohavebeenlile

hopethattheU.S.governmentwouldstepindirectlytofundsuchaproject.

Nevertheless,whatthegroupofresearchlibraryleaderspicturedsoundedmorelike

apubliclibrarythanlikearesearchlibrary:

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SaidDarnton,Theagreementwasverysolidaboutthedesirabilityofthisthing,and

thentherewasdiscussionaboutwhatthiswas.Ingeneral,Ithinkitfairtosay,

everyonethoughtthelibraryshouldbeonefortheAmericanpeople,bywhichImean

notanexclusiveresearchlibrarybutagrandcollecEonofbooksthatcouldbeusedin

juniorcollegesandhighschoolsandinsEtuEonsofeverysortthroughoutthe

country.PubliclibrariansbegantonoEcethattheywerebeingleoutofthediscussionofhowtocreatethisthingthatsoundedagoodbitlikeapubliclibrary,and

Darntonandhisgroupbegantomakechangesinresponse.

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AndrewW.Mellonsfather,JudgeThomasMellon,whosefinancialsuccesswouldeventuallyresultintheformaEonoftheMellonfoundaEon,wouldhaveapprovedofleavinggovernmentsoutofit,asDavidCanadinereports:

InNovember1881,AndrewCarnegieoffered$250,000fortheconstrucEonofa

municipallibrary,onthecondiEonthatthecorporaEon[ofthecityofPisburgh]commit$15,000ayeartoitsmaintenance.TomeetthiscondiEon,statelawwouldhavetobechanged,enablingthecorporaEontoearmarkpublicfundsforthispurpose.TheJudgebelievedinreading,hewasacquaintedwithCarnegie,andtheysharedScoshancestry,adevoEontoBurnsandSpencer,andapassionforfreeenterprise.Buthewasvehementlyagainstthisgi,fearingthatanysuchstatutoryalteraEonwouldopensEllwiderthefloodgatesofmunicipalprofligacy,civicdebt,andcaucuscorrupEon.HeproposedanalternaEvescheme,wherebyalibrarywouldbebuiltandmaintainedbythepublicsubscripEonsofrichindividuals,andforaEmehisplanscarriedtheSelectCouncil.ButtheFlinn-MageemachinewasdeterminedthattheCarnegieschemeshouldprevail,andtheensuingbalewouldlastfiveyears.ventually,inOctober1886,theSelectCouncilacceptedCarnegie'sterms,withthe

JudgecasEngtheonlydissenEngvote.Meanwhile,Carnegiehadincreasedhisgitoonemilliondollars,tofinancenotonlyalibrarybutalsomoreextensivebuildingsdevotedtothearts,science,andtechnology.Asaresult,thecity'sannualobligaEonformaintenanceroseto$40,000ayear,confirmingtheJudge'sworstfearsaboutmunicipalprofligacyandwaste.(69)

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Italwayssurprisesmealile,navefoolthatIam,thattherecanbeanydoubtthata

libraryisapublicgoodthatcontributestoamoreinformedandhappierciEzenry,and

thatitisthereforealegiEmateexpenseofgovernment.Butofcourse,tax-supported

publiclibrariesasweknowthemtodayhavereallyonlybeenaroundsincethemiddle

ofthenineteenthcentury,andinfactitwasthatsameAndrewCarnegiewhowould

dothemostofanyonetocreateanaEonalsystemofpubliclibrariesinAmerica.HadtheJudgeprevailed,heavenonlyknowswhetherwedhavepubliclibrariesatall

todaythePisburghlibraryunderdiscussionwastheveryfirstofover1600libraries

CarnegiewouldfundintheUnitedStatesonthecondiEonthatlocalgovernments

committosupporEngthem.(ThoughCarnegiehadbuiltonelibrarypreviouslyinthe

EnyScoshtownwherehehadgrownup.)

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Andofcourse,governmentshaveslashedpubliclibrarybudgetsinboththeU.S.and

theU.K.lately,tothepointwhereonegroupoflibraryusersinMiltonKeyneschecked

outallthebooksintheirlocallibraryasaprotestagainstitsplannedclosing.

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So,then,DarntonisapparentlywisenottoseekfederalfundingforaNaEonalDigitalPublicLibraryofAmerica,althoughleadersattheNaEonalArchivesandtheLibraryofCongressareindeedinvolvedintheplanning,andalthoughappealstoCongressmayyetbeonthemenu.Consider,too,thatwehavealreadyhadaNaEonalDigitalLibraryiniEaEve,andwhileitwasnotafailure,itwascertainlynotwidelytransformaEve.Someofyoumayevenrememberallthewaybackto1990whentheLibraryofCongresssAmericanMemorypilotprojectbegan,

endingin1994havingdigiEzed(andputonCD-ROM)some200,000publicdomainitemsrelatedtoAmericanhistory.In1994,theNaEonalDigitalLibrarytookoverthesamework,andbeginningwith$60millionoverfiveyears($45millionofitdonatedbytechnologycorporaEons)eventuallydigiEzedabout9millionarchivalitemsinthepublicdomainforAmericanMemory.OnecriEqueofthisproject,influencedbyMichelFoucaultandEtled,unoriginallyenough,LibraryofWalls,pointsoutthatitwasveryfarfrombeingintheAmericanpublicsinterest:[T]he"NaEonalDigitalLibrary"isanythingbutthe"plainvanilla"presentaEonofhistoricalmaterial,writesSamuelCollins.Rather,theenEreAmericanMemoryprojectfromitsincepEonin1990toitsconEnueddevelopmenttodayshows[...]acarefulselecEonandorganizaEonofmaterialsdesignedtobothhighlighttheinsEtuEonoftheLibraryofCongressandappealtotheLibrary's"clients,"especiallyCongress.TheLibraryofCongress,letusremember,isnotdejurethenaEonallibraryoftheUnitedStates.

AndyetsurelythelargestproblemwithcreaEngaDigitalLibraryofAmericaistheprovinceofbothCongressandtheLibraryofCongress.Letmehearyousayit:

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copyright.WesawinthecaseoftheNaEonalDigitalLibraryofKorea(whichis

physicallylinkedbytheWayofKnowledgetotheexisEngNaEonalLibraryofKorea,a

naEonallibrarydejure)thattheKoreangovernmentwaswillingtochangeitslawsin

ordertobeerenablethedigitallibrarytodoitsworkofpreservaEon.Isour

governmentwillingtodothat?Doesanyoneknowhowmuchitcoststohirea

lobbyist,anddoesanyoneknowwhetherMellonorSloancanpayforthat?

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Well.Copyright.Inanycase,youmightbeaskingyourself:Whatdoesthishavetodowithme,ahumblelectronicResourcesLibrarian?Afewthings.Firstofall,pieinthesky,imagineanAmericannaEonallibraryconsorEum,andimaginethebargainingpowersuchaconsorEumwouldhavewithSTMjournalpublishers.Asithappens,KoreaisagainanilluminaEngexample.In2002,anassessmentofaKoreandigital

libraryeffortforuniversityresearcherscalledtheResearchInformaEonServiceSystem(RISS)discoveredthat95%ofitsuserswereseriouslyfrustratedbytheirinabilitytoaccessthefulltextofforeignjournalarEcles.Koreanlibrariessimplycouldnotaffordtopaythepermissionfees.Fouryearslater,in2006,KoreahadformedaconsorEum:theKorealectronicSiteLicenseIniEaEve(KSLI),partlymodeledonOhioLink,increasedtheuselevelsofscholarlyinformaEontosixEmeshigherthanaveragethanbefore.Imaginethat.

MorerealisEcally,iftherereallydoescometobeaseriousnaEonaliniEaEveinwhichacademicandpubliclibrariansactuallypartneronprovidingbroadaccesstoelectronicresources,thatsachangeelectroniclibrariansinresearchlibrariesshouldtobeawareof,too,andfosterorresistasjudgmentsuggests.

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Lastly,andmostimportantly,whetherthiseverwindsupaffecEnglectronic

Resourceslibrarians,ifitdoescometopass,itwillaffectusasciEzens.

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Itisthereforegoodtoknowthattherearewaysinwhichwecanshareourthoughts.

TheintrepiddirectoroftheCenterforHistoryandNewMedia,DanCohen,isonthis

verydayaendingameeEngoftheDPLA,andheismorethanwilling

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toreceivethewisdomofthecrowdviaTwier.Hashtag:#dpla.

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DPLAalsohasanopene-maillistthatanyonecanjoin,andawikithatanyonecan

edit.Iforoneplantofollowthisprojectcloselyasitevolvesandsharemyopinions

viathelistservandothermeansjustassoonassaidopinionsdescendvoraciously

uponmelikeaCoopershawkdivingforamouseinthereadingroomoftheLibrary

ofCongress.Youshoulddolikewise.

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(AndtellthemyouwanttheNaEonalDigitalPublicLibraryofAmericatohaveacool

buildingliketheyhaveinKorea.WecanputitinDetroit.)

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Addendum:Inthecourseofresearchingthispaper,Iputtogetheraspreadsheetwith

somebasicinformaEonaboutsomelargedigitallibrariesinthatcategoryIinclude

commercialproductssuchasNetLibraryandOverDriveandAudibleaswellas

universityandfoundaEonprojectssuchasHathiTrustanduropeanaandgovernment

iniEaEvessuchastheNaEonalLibraryofNorwayandGallica,thenaEonaldigital

libraryofFrance.Feelfreetobrowseandanalyze.--Amanda

imagine a national digital library: i wonder if we can

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