Week 1: Introductions

Summary

This week we will go over some of the course basics, syllabus, and assignments. Following that we will begin to explore some basic topics related to digital libraries, including definitions of digital libraries, books and libraries as technology, digital objects, the role of metadata in digital libraries, and copyright.

Weekly Learning Objectives

• define digital object and describe a specific example of a digital object.
• explain the importance of metadata in digital collections.
• identify metadata elements in different digital library interfaces.
• Use online tools to investigate the U.S. copyright status of published works.

Before class: Readings, Resources, and Tasks

Readings

• Digital Libraries
  • Witten, Bainbridge, and Nichols: Chapter 1
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_library
  • Christenson, H. (2011). HathiTrust: A Research Library at Web Scale. Library Resources & Technical Services, 55, 93–102. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.55n2.93
• Metadata
  • Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The Metadata Librarian Explains Metadata
• Copyright
  • U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright Basics
  • U.S. Copyright Office. Duration of Copyright
  • Copyright Information Center. Cornell University Library. Copyright Term and the Public Domain
  • Copyright Clearance Center. Copyright Basics
  • U.S. Copyright Office. Public Domain: Celebrating the Lifecycle of Copyright
• Library Technology
  • Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Medieval Helpdesk
• Extras
  • Documentation available at HathiTrust
  • You may also wish to explore some of IU’s digital collections at http://dlib.indiana.edu/collections

Tasks

• Contribute to your introductory video to the Introduction videos discussion.
• Complete the Pre-class survey.
• Contribute to the “What are digital libraries?” discussion.

In Class

• course pre-test.
• course introduction.
• slides.
• Exploring digital collections activity.