I SSN 1 4 7 8 -8 0 5 5
V olu m e 1 N u m be r 1 Pa ge 1 / 1
hom e | cont act | about
I ssue cont ent s
GDL: m odel infrast ruct ure for a regional digit al library?
GDL: model infrastructure for a regional digital library?
Aut hors: D e n n is N ich olson, Ala n D a w son, Ge or ge M a cgr e gor
Ot her cont ribut ors: D e r e k La w, Ja n e Ba r t on, M ich a e l Bye r s
I nt roduct ion and overview |What is t he GDL: 3 perspect ives |The proj ect |
The vision and t he infrast ruct ure |The libraries |GDL fut ures |Quot able quot es
I ntroduction and overview
The Glasgow Digit al Library ( GDL) is a cross- sect oral and cit y w ide collaborat ive init iat ive involving
St rat hclyde, Glasgow and Caledonian Universit ies, as w ell as Glasgow Cit y Libraries and Archives and t he
Glasgow Colleges Group, and based in t he Cent re for Digit al Library Research at St rat hclyde Universit y.
The brainchild of Derek Law, it em erged as a response t o unique environm ent al circum st ances. Across UK, developm ent s such as t he People's Net w ork have posit ioned public libraries at t he cent re of a polit ical agenda t o im prove social inclusion and cohesion t hrough great er access t o online learning and t he JI SC
inform at ion environm ent is providing t he vehicle for UK Higher Educat ion ( HE) and Furt her Educat ion ( FE)
t o develop a dist ribut ed nat ional elect ronic resource.
I n Scot land, we have a parliam ent again, t he Scot t ish Execut ive is prom ot ing t he developm ent of "Digit al
Scot land" and developing, t hrough SLI C, a pilot Scot t ish Cult ural Port al. Meanwhile, t he Cit y of Glasgow
is spearheading a successful, socially inclusive and digit ally driven educat ional vision v ia "The Learning Cit y" - an at t em pt t o encourage a seam less regional approach t o educat ion. Such an environm ent , and an init ial inj ect ion of funding by t he Research Support Libraries Program m e, has fost ered t he developm ent of t he GDL.
What is the GDL: 3 perspectives
I t is useful t o look at t he GDL from a num ber of different perspect ives:
As a proj ect t hat is now an em bryonic ( and st ill developing) service
an agreed ( but developing) inform at ion infrast ruct ure w it hin w hich a coherent dist ribut ed Glasgow digit al landscape can grow as a seam less part 'Digit al Scot land'
As an init ial set of ( sm all but grow ing) digit al libraries
GDL: The project
Cove r of " Th e Re d D a w n " , t h e officia l or ga n of Th e Pr ole t a r ia n Sch ools a n d Colle ge , a syn dica list in spir e d m a ga z in e for you n g w or k e r s.
As a proj ect , t he GDL ran for t wo and a half years t o t he end of July 2002, w it h t he following being am ongst it s m ore significant achievem ent s:
Creat ing a coherent GDL w ebsit e offering int egrat ed access t o digit al collect ions held at CDLR and at ot her locat ions.
Set t ing up an inform at ion environm ent , based on t he use of est ablished int ernat ional st andards, t hat allows addit ional collect ions t o be plugged in relat ively easily, provided t he sam e st andards are adopt ed.
Ut ilising CAI RNS t echnology t o enable cross- searching of t he GDL cat alogue along wit h ot her Z39.50 server-based resource cat alogues wit hin Glasgow, including t hose of t he BUBL I nform at ion Service and t he Nat ional
Grid for Learning Scot land.
I nt egrat ed subj ect and place- nam e indexes t o t he GDL collect ions as a w hole, including t hose held at part ner inst it ut ions, such as t he Virt ual Mit chell and TheGlasgow St ory.
Set t ing up m echanism s for collaborat ing w it h ot her proj ect s about com m on m et adat a st andards; in part icular t he shared use of cont rolled aut horit y files for subj ect s and place nam es.
specific proj ect s, and t aking a longer t erm view of m aking digit al cont ent available t o a wider range of users, at present and in t he fut ure.
Creat ing new opport unit ies for collaborat ive cont ent creat ion and collect ion m anagem ent wit hin t he Glasgow area ( e.g. wit h t he Royal Scot t ish Geographical Societ y and Glasgow Caledonian Universit y) , as a result of m ut ual ent husiasm for digit isat ion proj ect s being handled wit hin t he GDL.
Helping proj ect part ners discover addit ional value wit hin t heir exist ing hard- copy collect ions as a result of t he process of digit isat ion for t he GDL proj ect .
The creat ion, wit h ot her regional and nat ional organisat ions in Scot land of CoSMiC ( t he Confederat ion of Scot t ish Mini- Cooperat ives) , a confederat ion of independent organisat ions, services and proj ect s working t oget her t o fost er and sust ain co- operat ion bet w een Libraries, Archives, Museum s, Elect ronic Learning Services and ot hers act ively engaged in building and developing " virt ual Scot land" .
A full final report is available at ht t p: / / gdl.cdlr.st rat h.ac.uk/ docum ent s/ gdlar2002.ht m and is a useful read for anyone aim ing t o set up a sim ilar service elsewhere.
Am a lga m a t e d Socie t y of Ge n e r a l Toolm a k e r s, En gin e e r s a n d M a ch in ist s m e m be r sh ip ce r t ifica t e
GDL: From vision to infrastructure
current ly separat ed by ownership and physical locat ion. There has, however, been som e adj ust m ent in t he original view of how t hat m ight best be achieved. Som e of t he original goals proved difficult or im possible t o achieve wit hin t he proj ect t im espan, but ot her st rands have blossom ed int o a concept and a user service t hat is considered by t he part ners t o be w ort h developing furt her and t hat should lead ult im at ely t o t he sam e end.
I n sim ple t erm s, t he aim now is t o creat e, collect or provide access t o digit al cont ent t hat is a bou t Gla sgow, in Gla sgow or for Gla sgow ( wit hout duplicat ing work done elsew here) and t o do so t hrough t he
developm ent and im plem ent at ion of an agreed t echnical and int er- working infrast ruct ure and a com m on collect ion developm ent policy. I n ot her w ords, t he focus of t he post - proj ect GDL Developm ent Group will be t o help provide an environm ent in which a coherent dist ribut ed Glasgow Digit al Library can grow and develop as new digit isat ion proj ect s develop across t he cit y - t o ensure t hat t hese init iat ives can develop in t he cont ext of a collaborat ive view of digit al collect ion developm ent .
GDL: The libraries
As t he hom e page of t he em bryonic Glasgow Digit al Library Service show s, t he GDL current ly includes six m ain digit al collect ions ( and a t ot al of over 3000 digit al it em s) w it h a furt her t w o collect ions under developm ent .
This is a digit al archive of t he ephem era - leaflet s, flyers, post cards, new slet t ers - produced by candidat es and polit ical part ies for t he first Scot t ish parliam ent ary elect ion in May 1999, but enhanced wit h
supplem ent ary inform at ion on elect oral const it uencies and regions, polit ical part ies, t he elect oral process and t he result s of t he elect ion.
Red Clydeside
The Red Clydeside collect ion provides access t o digit al copies of original source m at erials from t he Red
Clydeside era - a period bet ween 1910 and 1922 w hen t he cit y of Glasgow w as w it ness t o an unparalleled wave of w orking class prot est and polit ical agit at ion which challenged t he forces of capit alism and even t he st at e it self.
Springburn Virtual Museum
On 30 March 2001, Springburn Com m unit y Museum closed it s doors for t he last t im e, unable t o secure sufficient funding t o pay for st aff cost s, essent ial building repairs and t he upkeep of t he collect ion. The GDL offers one rout e t o a possible fut ure t hrough t he creat ion of Springburn Virt ual Museum wit h a sm all but represent at ive select ion of m at erials.
Voyage of the Scotia
This w ill be an online exhibit ion m arking t he cent enary of t he Scot t ish Nat ional Ant arct ic Expedit ion which t ook place bet ween 1902 and 1904. I t will present phot ographs, art efact s, m aps and docum ent s from
t he collect ions of t he Royal Scot t ish Geographical Societ y, including an illust rat ed account of t he life and work of Dr William Bruce, and his scient ific expedit ion t o t he Ant arct ic on board t he Scot ia in 1902- 04.
100 Glasgow Men
This proj ect involves t he digit isat ion of t he whole of t he book ent it led
Mem oirs and port rait s of 100 Glasgow m en w ho have died during t he last t hirt y years, and in t heir lives did m uch t o m ake t he cit y what it now is
by Jam es Maclehose. This book was published in t w o volum es in 1886 as a lim it ed edit ion of 400
W a sh h ou se in ba ck cou r t of Spr in gbu r n t e n e m e n t s, 1 9 5 0 s
Glasgow I nfo
This provides a direct ory of organisat ions locat ed in Glasgow and inform at ion sources about t he Cit y of Glasgow and it s inhabit ant s.
Virtual Mitchell
This collect ion holds a select ion of phot ographs and ot her im ages of t he cit y t hat have been digit ised by t he Mit chell Library as part of an ongoing proj ect t o m ake it s resources m ore w idely accessible. The select ed m at erial is of local and hist orical int erest .
Victorian Times
GDL futures
I n conj unct ion wit h t he exist ing part ners, and hopefully som e new ones also, t he CDLR is int ending t o cont inue developm ent and m aint enance of t he GDL infrast ruct ure ( and t herefore t he GDL it self) wit hin t he cont ext of ot her funded digit al init iat ives based in Glasgow . These include:
HaI RST, a proj ect t hat includes t wo m em bers of t he current GDL part ners - St rat hclyde Universit y and t he
Glasgow Colleges Group* - and has a rem it t o w ork wit h t wo ot hers. HaI RST - t he nam e is t aken from an old Scot s word m eaning harvest - st ands for Harvest ing I nst it ut ional resources in Scot land Test bed and will aim t o im prove access t o elect ronic t eaching and research resources in HE and FE inst it ut ions in Scot land ( and, hence, Glasgow) and also t o m anage t hem , fost er t he inst it ut ional environm ent s t hat support t heir
creat ion, harvest relat ed m et adat a, int egrat e OAI based e- print s cat alogues wit h Z39.50 cat alogues, and develop associat ed inst it ut ional and int er- inst it ut ional collect ion policies. Provided t he GDL infrast ruct ure is t aken int o account ( as it will be) , t his w ork w ill enhance bot h t he cont ent and t he facilit ies available t o t he GDL.
Vict orian Tim es, and SAPI ENS. Bot h proj ect s are based at St rat hclyde Universit y and, being concerned wit h
t he creat ion of Glasgow- based digit al resources, w ill enhance GDL cont ent if com m on st andards are adopt ed. I n addit ion, Vict orian Tim es will address ot her quest ions relevant t o GDL's aim s - in part icular, it will creat e a digit al library t hat is also a learning environm ent t hat offers different t ypes of users ( prim ary and
secondary school st udent s, life long learners, researchers and ot hers) a different view on t he cont ent according t o t heir needs.
Th e Gla sgow St or y, a proj ect based at Glasgow Universit y, t hat is act ively co- operat ing wit h t he GDL and providing funds t o allow t he CDLR t o advise on int eroperabilit y, part icularly in respect of subj ect t erm s ( The CDLR is current ly collaborat ing wit h t he Nat ional Library of Scot land, St rat hclyde Universit y Library and Glasgow Universit y t o ext end t he LCSH subj ect vocabulary t o include addit ional Brit ish and
Scot t ish t erm inology via t he Library of Congress NACO and SACO processes, so t hat it becom es m ore suit able for use by Brit ish proj ect s. This is a long- t erm process which is int ended t o cont inue irrespect ive of t he st at us of t he GDL, but t he work already done wit hin t he GDL will be a valuable st art ing point ) .
I n addit ion, t he various part ners, old and new , w ill aim - on an ongoing and co- ordinat ed basis - t o at t ract funding t o develop new digit al collect ions, ext end exist ing ones, and m ove t owards an increasingly
m ore sophist icat ed and funct ion- rich digit al library and digit al learning environm ent for Glasgow's cit izens.
Quotable Quotes
" A new socially inclusive and digit ally driven educat ional vision and st rat egy has begun t o develop" - D e r e k La w, Librarian and Head of I nform at ion Resources Direct orat e, St rat hclyde Universit y
" The dist ribut ed inform at ion environm ent m ust grow as a single t hing, and st aff, user, and orqanisat ional cult ures m ust grow wit h it if t he end result is t o be an int egrat ed, user- responsive w hole" - D e n n is N ich olson, Direct or, Cent re for Digit al Library Research, St rat hclyde Universit y
" A clear sense of t he nat ure and scope of t he GDL is beginning t o em erge and t he pot ent ial of a cit y- wide digit al library is increasingly evident " - Ja n e Ba r t on, GDL Librarian and Proj ect Officer January 2000 - Oct ober 2001
" I f sim ilar m echanism s and st andards can be used t o com bine separat e digit al libraries int o a regional or nat ional service, t hen t he GDL has dem onst rat ed one rout e by w hich t he pat h t o a digit al Scot land m ay be achieved" - Ala n D a w son, GDL Manager, Oct ober 2001
co- operat ors everywhere ( and a fit t ing end t o t he first issue of WI DWI SAWN) :
" I 'll let cha be in m y dream if I can be in yours" - Bob D yla n, Songw rit er
* St . An dr e w s a n d N a pie r Un ive r sit ie s a r e a lso k e y pla ye r s
GDL: m odel infrast ruct ure for a regional digit al library?
Hom e | Cont ent s by issue | Search WI DWI SAWN | SAPI ENS hom epage
All right s reside wit h t he aut hor( s) . WI DWI SAWN recognises t he aut hor( s) as t he copyright holder( s) unless specifically direct ed ot herw ise.
WI DWI SAWN is delivered via t he SAPI ENS e- publishing service and is host ed by t he Cent re for Digit al Library Research at t he Universit y of St rat hclyde
Design and layout © CDLR 2008
