JCDL Conference 2008

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Tutorial 6B: Introduction to (Teaching / Learning about) Digital Libraries
Half Day

This tutorial will provide a thorough and deep introduction to the DL field, introducing and building upon a firm theoretical foundation (starting with “5S”: Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, Societies), giving careful definitions and explanations of all the key parts of a “minimal digital library”, and expanding from that basis to cover key DL issues, illustrated with a well-chosen set of case studies. Preliminary results from an NSF grant to develop DL curriculum (see http://curric.dlib.vt.edu/) will be presented, including descriptions (aimed at teachers and learners) of the major modules and sub-modules that cover the core DL topics and related topics.

Learning objectives:

  • Be able to explain 5S.
  • Be able to define key DL concepts.
  • Be able to define “digital library”.
  • Be able to list common DL services, and organize them into a taxonomy.
  • Be able to analyze an existing or planned DL using the 5S framework.
  • Be able to explain how quality fits into the Information Life Cycle.
  • Be able to describe how to compute a variety of DL quality indicators.

Target audience:
The tutorial is targeted at several audiences: (1) those seeking to become oriented to digital libraries (DLs) or those attending JCDL for the first time, (2) those interested in DL theory in general, or 5S in particular, (3) those teaching DL courses, so as to be prepared to use curricular resources.

Level of Experience:
Introductory. Those at intermediate or advanced levels could benefit as well, since the 5S framework has broad applicability for planners, designers, implementers, and evaluators.

Presenter:
Edward Fox holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Cornell, and a B.S. from M.I.T. Since 1983 he has been at Virginia Tech, where he serves as Professor. He directs VT’s Digital Library Research Laboratory and the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. He is chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Digital Libraries, and is on the steering committees for JCDL and ICADL. He has been (co) PI on 100 research and development projects. In addition to his courses at Virginia Tech (including on digital libraries), Dr. Fox has taught over 70 tutorials in more than 25 countries. He has given more than 60 keynote/ banquet/international invited/distinguished speaker presentations, 140 refereed conference/workshop papers, and 300 additional papers/presentations. He has coauthored/ edited more than 13 books, 83 journal/magazine articles, 37 book chapters, and many reports. Fox was Co-Editor-in-Chief for ACM JERIC, and is on the boards of TOIS, IJDL, IP&M, J. UCS, Multimedia Tools & Applications, etc.