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
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_library
  • Witten, Bainbridge, and Nichols: Chapter 1
  • 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

Tasks

• Complete the Pre-class survey.

In Class

• course introduction.
• slides.
• Exploring digital collections activity.