Thematic digital libraries at the University of Porto : metadata integration over a repository infrastructure

The University of Porto has a well-established set of specialized libraries serving theresearch and student population of its 14 schools. Thematic digital libraries can be valuable fororganizing specific collections and for supporting emergent communities. This work focuses ontwo case studies, one in the area of the Fine Arts and the other in the area of Food andNutrition. For building both digital libraries we propose to use the existing university repositoryinfrastructure and to establish a metadata workflow that makes use of available descriptions inthe library catalogues and in the university information system. We expect that such anapproach, which takes into account the institutional context and resources, can be used in othercollections at our university and inspire similar initiatives elsewhere

On the Effective Manipulation of Digital Objects: A Prototype-Based Instantiation Approach

Abstract. This paper elaborates on the design and development of an effective digital object manipulation mechanism that facilitates the gen-eration of configurable Digital Library application logic, as expressed by collection manager, cataloguing and browsing modules. Our work aims to resolve the issue that digital objects typing information can be cur-rently utilized only by humans as a guide and not by programs as a digital object type conformance mechanism. Drawing on the notions of the Object Oriented Model, we propose a “type checking ” mechanism that automates the conformance of digital objects to their type defini-tions, named digital object prototypes. We pinpoint the practical benefits gained by our approach in the development of the University of Athens Digital Library, in terms of code reuse and configuration capabilities.

The application of workflows to digital heritage systems

Digital heritage systems usually handle a rich and varied mix of digital objects, accompanied by complex and intersecting workflows and processes. However, they usually lack effective workflow management within their components as evident in the lack of integrated solutions that include workflow components. There are a number of reasons for this limitation in workflow management utilization including some technical challenges, the unique nature of each digital resource and the challenges imposed by the environments and infrastructure in which such systems operate. This thesis investigates the concept of utilizing Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) within Digital Library Systems, and more specifically in online Digital Heritage Resources. The research work conducted involved the design and development of a novel experimental WfMS to test the viability of effective workflow management on the complex processes that exist in digital library and heritage resources. This rarely studied area of interest is covered by analyzing evolving workflow management technologies and paradigms. The different operational and technological aspects of these systems are evaluated while focusing on the areas that traditional systems often fail to address. A digital heritage resource was created to test a novel concept called DISPLAYS (Digital Library Services for Playing with Antiquity and Shared Heritage), which provides digital heritage content: creation, archival, exposition, presentation and interaction services for digital heritage collections. Based on DISPLAYS, a specific digital heritage resource was created to validate its concept and, more importantly, to act as a test bed to validate workflow management for digital heritage resources. This DISPLAYS type system implementation was called the Reanimating Cultural Heritage resource, for which three core components are the archival, retrieval and presentation components. To validate workflow management and its concepts, another limited version of these reanimating cultural heritage components was implemented within a workflow management host to test if the workflow technology is a viable choice for managing control and dataflow within a digital heritage system: this was successfully proved

22ο Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο Ακαδημαϊκών Βιβλιοθηκών : Επιστροφή στο μέλλον - οι αξίες του παρελθόντος οδηγοί για το μέλλον

Proceedings of the 22nd Panhellenic Conference of Academic Libraries with the theme "Back to the future: the values of the past, our guides for the future". The conference was held from October 23 to October 25, 2013 and it was organized by the Library & Information Center of the University of Patras. The economic crisis has emerged serious problems for the Greek academic libraries. The libraries are now called upon to respond to the challenge of maintaining the high standards of service that won during the previous years, as well as further developing inside a hostile environment. At the same time, the international library community faces radical changes in the approach of data management with the maturation of a new bibliographic framework and the advent of technology applications that support it. Therefore, libraries are called to reconsider their perspectives and take advantage of their strong principles and technological developments in order to meet the challenges, to regroup and to assist the effort of the society to exit from the crisis. The Organizing Committee of the 22th Panhellenic Academic Libraries Conference accepted submissions at the following, but not limited to, topics: Bibliographical standards and practical applications, Sound and efficient library administration models, Libraries and social support services (homeless, unemployed, etc.), Libraries collaborative efforts, Management of electronic resources, Management of research data, Production and distribution of digital content, Electronic publishing, Information library systems (e.g. integrated library systems), Open Data, Semantic Web, Digital libraries and digital collections, Institutional and subject repositories, Libraries and mobile applications, Social networks and media, Libraries and Copyright