<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
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Friday, June 04, 2004  

ADL Draws A Map For Geolibraries
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may04/goodchild/05goodchild.html

Launched in 1994, the Alexandria Digital Library Project has fundamentally changed the way libraries deal with the problems inherent in cataloging maps. First, map collections are specialized, and not every library can afford a large one. Second, maps, images and globes present unique storage and preservation challenges. And third, they are notoriously difficult to catalog in the traditional author/title/subject paradigm of classification. The most obvious basis for search and retrieval of maps and related objects is geographic coverage: a user is typically looking for a map of somewhere. But geographic space is continuous rather than discrete, and an assortment of methods are used for defining geographic location, including coordinates (latitude and longitude), place names, and various indexing schemes. The ADL Project solved these problems by automating both the catalog and the content of the map library, enabling users to access the library remotely and the library to leverage its investment by extending access globally. Digital storage also resolved issues of preservation and the management of physical media; and the automated catalog was capable of finding information by geographic location. The concepts pioneered by ADL were later adopted in numerous other projects. The geolibrary, for example, can only exist in a digital world. Therefore, it remains one of the most powerful concepts to have come out of digital library research.

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:10 AM
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