Villanova University
Department of Computing Sciences
CSC 5930/9010 Digital Libraries
Professor: Dr. Lillian N.
Cassel
E-mail: lillian.cassel@villanova.edu
Semester: Fall 2006
Course Description: Digital
Libraries and other Web-Based Information Presentation
:
This special topics course will examine the general question of
providing organized, efficient access to information through a
web-based interface. The emphasis will be on Digital Libraries since
this is a reasonably well-developed area that supports storage and
presentation of a wide range of information types.
During the class, students will install and populate a digital
library using the open source DSpace system. Built at MIT, this
software has been widely accepted as a good start for digital
libraries. The system is installed and running at Villanova, both in
the Computing Sciences department and in the Falvey library. We have
developed documentation in addition to what is available at the DSpace
site. Students are free to choose their own type of content for their
digital library. Examples include copies of work you have done, photos,
songs, or any other kind of digital objects or a mixture of kinds.
There is a growing body of work investigating what makes a well
organized and well implemented digital library and this will form the
basis of this course. We will mix theory and practice to result in
expertise and experience.
Course Goals:
Describe Web based information sources (Digital Libraries: Theory)
Contrast a digital library with other types of online resource
collections. Enumerate the characteristics of a digital library that
distinguishes it from a database or a web site.
Digital Library project (Digital Libraries: Practice)
Create something new in digital libraries.
Characterize Digital Libraries using the 5S model (Digital
Libraries: Theory)
Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, Societies -- the 5 S's that
encompass the characteristics of digital libraries. What do they all
mean and how can they be used to build and maintain a working digital
library.
Organize information in a digital library (Digital Libraries:
Theory)
The role of metadata and other ways to describe digital library content
Recognize and Protect Intellectual Property (Digital Libraries:
Theory)
Balancing the rights of the author with the desire to share information
requires understanding of intellectual property rights. What can we put
into our digital library? To whom can we make it available?
Digital Library services (Digital Libraries: Theory)
What besides content makes a library? How are these services expressed
in a digital environment?
Install and configure a digital library (Digital Libraries:
Practice)
You will install and configure a digital library so that it can hold
information and present it to users, along with appropriate digital
library services.
Information about the course
management:
Introduction
:
Every indication is that the best way
to learn is to be actively
involved in discovery, in creating your own knowledge. As a result,
your active participation is a fundamental requirement of this course.
Each class session will involve some discussion. You will make at least
one presentation in front of the class. If that idea makes you somewhat
uncomfortable, take that as a sign that you need to overcome that
feeling and become confident in your ability to speak to a group and to
present your work and your ideas.
Additional
information
:
Attendance: I assume that every student
will attend every class unless
I have heard previously that you have a reason for missing class. In
all cases, you are responsible to discover what has been done in the
class you miss. Just keeping up with class by hearing about happenings
from other students is not sufficient, however. Your input into our
discussions is important. Your absence not only hurts you; it deprives
the rest of the class of the valuable contributions you would have
made. A part of the grade is reserved for active participation in every
class session.
Writing:
Some of your work will be submitted in
written form. The
quality of the writing will be considered in grading your work.
Resources are available to help with writing well, and I will be glad
to give you some asistance. I do recognize that for many people in this
class, English is not your first language. I will consider that in
evaluating your work. However, I will expect you to make a
conscientious effort to write clearly and to present your ideas in a
well-organized and understandable form. Villanova has a writing center
where any student can obtain assistance with writing. I will be happy
to lend assistance also. Learning to express yourself clearly will
serve you well in future endeavors.
Grading Policy
Grades will be based on successful and
timely completion of assignments
and projects, and on active participation in class and in online
discussions.
There are both undergraduate and graduate
students in this class,
each taking the course at their proper level. There are different
grading scales for the two groups. There will be somewhat different
expectations of the groups and the grades will be appropriate to the
level of the student.
For undergraduates: Doing what is
assigned at an acceptable
level earns a grade of C. Doing a better job than base acceptably
improves the grade. Doing a less than acceptable job receives a lower
grade. An A is quite possible, but does require exceptional work, not
just meeting requirements.
For graduate students: Graduate students
are expected to be at a higher
level of accomplishment than undergraduates and this is reflected in
the grading scales. A graduate student who does what is expected in
assignments receives a grade of B. Better work receives better grades.
An A is quite possible, but does require exceptional work, not just
meeting requirements.
All students: See the descriptions of
the grading levels in the
scoring templates for assignments. There is one for reports and one for
projects.
Semester Schedule
Week
|
Subject
|
Link to
Slides
|
Notes
|
1
|
Digital Libraries: What and Why
|
Class
Slides
|
|
2
|
The 5S model of digital libraries
DSpace, Greenstone and other open source packages for installing and
managing a digital collection.
|
Class
Slides
|
First Reading due: "As We May Think" by
Vannevar Bush
|
3
|
Content: The real thing and its description.
Gathering content, classifying it.
Metadata standards and application to digital library content. |
Class
Slides
|
Reading: Streams,
structures, spaces, scenarios, societies (5s): A
formal model for digital libraries
from the ACM Digital Library
|
4
|
Guest speaker, Dr. Joseph Lucia,
Director of the Falvey Library at Villanova
|
Class
Slides
|
|
5
|
Dublin Core, Google Books, DL
designs
|
Class
Slides
|
|
6
|
Access control and encryption
|
Class
Slides
|
Reading: Arms, Digital Libraries
Chapter 7 "Access management and security"
Reading: NINCH
Guide Chapter 4 "Rights Management"
Discuss differences and similarities of these materials
|
7
|
Fall Break
|
|
|
8
|
Metadata Harvesting: The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for
Metadata Harvesting
|
Class
Slides
|
|
9
|
User Interfaces and Usability
|
Class Slides
|
|
10
|
Quality in Digital Libraries. How to measure; what does it mean; how
important is it
|
Class
Slides
|
Gonçalves, M. A., Moreira, B.
L., Fox, E. A., and Watson, L. T. Quality
Model for Digital Libraries to be published soon
|
11
|
Summing up and looking ahead
|
Class
Slides
|
|
12
|
online class
|
|
|
13
|
Project presentations |
|
|
14
|
Project presentations
|
|
|
15
|
Project presentations
|
|
|
References
- CIS 661 - Digital Libraries: http://webapp.slis.ua.edu/smmweb/DLib/Metadata/OrganizingInternetResources_files/v3_document.htm
- Copyright Management Center, IUPUI Indianapolis. Checklist
for Fair Use http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm
- Cryptograms. http://www.cryptograms.org/
- Cryptograms - Letter Frequencies. http://www.cryptograms.org/letter-frequencies.php
- Data Encryption Standard.
http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip46-2.htm
- Getting Permission. http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/PERMISSN.HTM
- Giving SOAP a REST http://www.devx.com/DevX/Article/8155
- Gonçalves, M. A., Moreira, B. L., Fox, E. A., and Watson, L. T.
“Quality Model for Digital Libraries” to be published soon
- Gonçalves, M. A., Luo, M., Ali, M. F., and Fox, E. A. “An XML Log
Standard and Tool for Digital Library Logging Analysis” In Research and
Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, 6th European Conference,
ECDL 2002, Rome, Italy, September 16-18, 2002, Proceedings
- Klas, C., et al "A Logging Scheme for Comparative Digital Library
Evaluation” Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries,
10th European Conference, ECDL 2006, Alicante,Spain, September 18-20,
2002, Proceedings
- Library of Congress. American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
- Library of Congress. American Memory Project. Map
Collections. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
- OAI For Beginners - The Open Archives Forum online
tutorial: http://www.oaforum.org/tutorial/index.php
- Sale, Tony. Technical Specification of the Enigma. http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/enigma/rotorspec.htm
- Sale, Tony. Virtual Bletchley Park. The Breaking of Enigma
by the Polish Mathematicians http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/virtualbp/poles/poles.htm
- SOAP Version 1.2 Part 0: Primer http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/REC-soap12-part0-20030624/#L1153
- US Copyright Office. Copyright. http://www.loc.gov/copyright
- Z39.50 An Overview of Development and the Future (1995) http://www.cqs.washington.edu/~camel/z/z.html
- Z39.50 Resource Page: http://www.niso.org/standards/resources/Z3950_Resources.html