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Unit 10: Digital and Virtual Libraries

traditional library are also selected. Criteria for the selection process are defined, and these Notes
criteria typically include measures of quality. The objects (information sources) in it are
organized — classified, catalogued, and indexed by human beings, in what are called value-
added processes. Authority control is a key feature, in which names of authors, variants of
works (editions), and subject headings or descriptors are all controlled. The concept of authorship
and ownership are extremely important in a traditional library, in which various forms of an
author’s name are brought together in a name authority file.
Table 10.1: Properties of a Digital Library

The importance of authorship and ownership in the traditional library reflects the importance
of these ideas in traditional scholarly communication, where scholars and scientists cite in
reference lists the authors and works from which they have borrowed ideas, words, or facts. This
is how intellectual debts are paid, and how original authorship is acknowledged. Ownership of
intellectual property is central to publishing and scholarship; plagiarism — stealing the words
of others without attribution — is considered to be unethical in scholarly writing and science.

Did u know? Formal legal rights of ownership are defined by national and international
copyright law.
The objects in a traditional library have certain properties as well. Firstly, they are fixed — they
do not normally change, or if they do, various editions are identified and considered to be
different from one another. Objects are also permanent — they do not normally disappear from
a collection. Finally, a variety of services are offered by librarians who work in the traditional
library. These include help with searching information resources, reference and research services,
readers’ advisory services, and others. A traditional library typically offers only limited access
to materials and services; access is restricted to certain classes of potential users.

10.1.3 Benefits of Digital Library

The benefits of digital libraries are as follows:

Digital library provides a starting point for all research.
State and federal requirements are to provide adequate and appropriate educational
opportunities for all students.

The digital library is ideal in support of students receiving their schooling using distance
learning education.

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