English information:
"The new digital library will have functions that traditional libraries do not have, thus extending the concept of library far beyond the physical boundaries. They will provide innovative resources and services. One example is the ability to interact with information: digital libraries allow users to choose various ways to view and process numbers, including graphic representations they can explore, instead of presenting readers with a digital table. With the wide use of hypertext links in interconnecting information, digital libraries enable users to find relevant digital materials on a specific topic.
(Report 200 1 PITAC, "Digital Library: Universal Access to Human Knowledge", p. 3)
"A digital library is an organization that provides resources (including professionals) to select, construct, provide intelligent access to digital works collections, interpret, distribute, maintain their integrity, and ensure their persistence over time, so that they can be used by a defined community or a group of communities at any time and economically."
(Digital Library Consortium)
Digital library is a complex data/information/knowledge (hereinafter referred to as information) system, which helps to meet the information needs of users (society), provide information services (scenes), organize information (structure) in a usable way, manage the location (space) of information, and exchange information (flow) with users and their agents.
(Edward A. Fox, July 1999, according to the 5S framework)
"The work of digital library takes place in the environment of complex design space formed by four dimensions: community, technology, service and content"
(Gary Marchionini and Edward A. Fox, "Progress towards Digital Library: Enhancement through Integration", page 2 19-225, introduction of "Progress towards Digital Library" by guest editors, eds. Gary marchionne and edward a. fox, special issue, information processing. Management, 35(3), May 1999. )
"The field of digital library deals with the problem of enhancing human civilization by applying digital technology to information problems solved by institutions such as libraries, archives, museums, schools, publishers and other information institutions. The focus of the work of digital library is to integrate services and better serve human needs, regardless of interface, location, time, language and system. Although a large number of collections may be created for personal use, we believe that shareable resources are one of the defining characteristics of libraries. Library connects people and information; The digital library magnifies and strengthens these connections. "
(Gary Marchionne and Edward A. Fox, Progress towards Digital Library: Enhancement through Integration, Information Processing and Information Technology; Management, 35(3):2 19-225, May 1999. )
For an in-depth discussion on the definition, methods and community views of "digital library", please refer to "What is a digital library? The Vision of Competition ",pp. 227-244, in Towards a Digital Library, edited. Gary marchionne and edward a. fox, special issue, information processing. Management, 35(3), May 1999.
"Digital library is:
A collection of services
And a collection of information objects
Support users to process information objects.
And the organization and presentation of these objects.
Available directly or indirectly.
By electronic/digital means. "
(Scope of digital library, draft prepared by Barry M. Leiner for DLib digital library measurement working group, 1998)
"Digital library is a concept with different meanings in different communities. For engineering and computer science groups, digital library is a symbol of a new distributed database service for managing unstructured multimedia data. For political and business circles, this word represents a new market for information resources and services in the world. For futurists, the digital library represents the performance of the brain of the Wells world. The viewpoint adopted here is rooted in the tradition of information science. "
(Research and Development of Digital Library by Gary Marchionini, 1998)
"An organized database composed of digital information objects in various formats, which aims to provide user groups with access convenience without intermediary, has the following further characteristics:
-Comprehensive access tools (such as directories) provide search and retrieval capabilities for the entire database;
-There are organized technical procedures through which librarians add and delete objects to the database according to a consistent and accessible collection policy. "
(Peter Graham, Rutgers University Library, 1997)
"A digital library is a set of electronic resources and related technical capabilities for creating, searching and using information. In this sense, they are extensions and enhancements of information storage and retrieval systems, which deal with any media (text, images, sounds; Static or dynamic images) exist in a distributed network. The content of digital library includes data, metadata describing all aspects of data (for example, representation, creator, owner and reproduction right), and metadata composed of links or relationships to other data or metadata, whether inside or outside the digital library.
(1996 University of California, Los Angeles-National Science Foundation Seminar on Social Aspects of Digital Library)
Digital library is built, collected and organized by user groups, and its function supports the information needs and use of this group. They are an integral part of the community, where individuals and groups use data, information and knowledge resources and systems to communicate with each other. In this sense, they are the extension, enhancement and integration of various information institutions, as physical places to select, collect, organize, save and access resources to support user groups. These information institutions include libraries, museums, archives and schools, but digital libraries also expand and serve other community environments, including classrooms, offices, laboratories, families and public spaces. "
(1996 University of California, Los Angeles-National Science Foundation Seminar on Social Aspects of Digital Library)
A system that provides users with consistent access to large, organized information and knowledge warehouses.
(Clifford Lynch, 1995)
"A system that provides users with consistent access to large, organized information and knowledge bases. This kind of information organization is characterized by the lack of detailed understanding of the purpose of information in advance. The ability of digital technology enriches the ability of users to access, reorganize and use this database. "
(Adapted from 1995 IITA Digital Library Seminar Report "Interoperability, Scalability and Research Agenda of Digital Library")
"A library that has been expanded and enhanced by applying digital technology. Important aspects of a digital library that can be expanded and enhanced include:
-Books in the library
-Organization and management of collections
-Access and handling of library projects
Information contained in the project
-Exchange information about goods "
(Terry Smith, UCSB, 1995)
"The general name of the joint structure provides human beings with intelligent and physical access to the huge and growing global information network encoded in multimedia digital format."
(University of Michigan Digital Library: This is not your father's library, Bill Birmingham, 1994)
"Digital library is a distributed technology environment, which greatly reduces the obstacles for individuals and groups to create, spread, operate, store, integrate and reuse information."
(Edward A. Fox, editor, source materials about digital library, 1993, p. 65)
"Digital libraries are machine-readable representations of materials that can be found in university libraries, as well as organizational information designed to help users find specific information. Digital library service is a collection of digital computing, storage and communication equipment and software, which are necessary to republish, simulate and expand the services provided by traditional libraries, while the services provided by traditional libraries are based on paper and other material means of collecting, storing, cataloging, searching and disseminating information.
(Edward A. Fox, editor, source materials about digital library, 1993, p. 65)