The Registry/Repository is supplemented by the Knowledge Manager – more specifically a Representation Information Gap manager which identifies gaps which need to be filled, based on information supplied to the Orchestration component.
Of course the information on which this is based does not come out of thin air. People (initially) must provide this information and the Orchestration Manager collects this information and distributes.
Support for automation in identifying such
“gaps”, based on information received, is illus- trated in Figure 7 which shows users (u1, u2…) with user profiles (p1, p2… – each a description of the user’s Knowledge Base) with Representation Information {m1, m2,…) to understand various digital objects (o1, o2…).
Take for example user u1 trying to understand digital object o1. To understand o1, Representa- tion Information m1 is needed. The profile p1 shows that user u1 understands m1 (and therefore its dependencies m2, m3 and m4) and therefore has enough Representation Information to un- derstand o1.
Figure 7. Represents information dependencies
When user u2 tries to understand o2 we see that o2 needs Representation Information m3 and m4. Profile p2 shows that u2 understands m2 (and therefore m3), however there is a gap, namely m4 which is required for u2 to understand o2.
For u2 to understand o1, we can see that Representation Information m1 and m4 need to be supplied.
This illustrates on of the areas in which Knowl- edge Management techniques are being applied within CASPAR, in addition to the capture of Semantic Representation Information.
CONCLUSION
Digital preservation is not a one-off activity; the variety of continuing threats and challenges, as outlined in this paper, must be addressed. The approach taken by OAIS has several benefits including providing the basis for certifying ar- chives and showing how a preservation infra- structure is intimately connected with a general data infrastructure. This paper has expanded on these ideas and also described how the standard for audit and certification of digital repositories is being developed.
Further detail may be found at http://www.
casparpreserves.eu; full documentation of the deliverables may be downloaded at http://www.
casparpreserves.eu/publications/deliverables The software may be found at http://developers.
casparpreserves.eu:8080/. Many strategies must be considered and appropriate infrastructures are needed to share the effort of preservation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The work reported in this paper could not have been done without the help of colleagues in the CASPAR and PARSE.Insight projects and also colleagues in the CCSDS working on OAIS and
the Repository Audit and Certification Working Group.
REFERENCES
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CASPAR D1201. Conceptual Model – Phase 1.
(2007). Retrieved from http://www.casparpre- serves.eu/Members/cclrc/Deliverables/caspar- guidelines/at_download/file
Digital Curation Centre (DCC). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dcc.ac.uk
Digital Preservation Europe. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.digitalpreservationeurope.eu/
DRAMBORA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.
repositoryaudit.eu/
Garrett, J., & Waters, D. (Eds.). (1996). Preserving Digital Information, Report of the Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information commissioned.
The Commission on Preservation and Access and The Research Libraries Group. Retrieved from http://www.ifla.org/documents/libraries/
net/tfadi-fr.pdf
Giaretta, D. (June 2007). The CASPAR Approach to Digital Preservation. IJDC 2(1), 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2008, from http://www.ijdc.net/ijdc/
article/view/29/32
Giaretta, D. (2009). Significant Properties, Au- thenticity, Provenance, Representation Informa- tion and OAIS. Paper in iPRES, San Francisco, 5&6 October 2009.
National Science Foundation Cyberinfrastructure Council (NSF). (2007). Cyberinfrastructure Vision for 21st Century Discovery. Retrieved from http://
www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0728/nsf0728.pdf
Nestor Working Group Trusted Repositories – Cer- tification. (2006). Catalogue of Criteria for Trust- ed Digital Repositories. Retrieved from http://
edoc.hu-berlin.de/series/nestor-materialien/8en/
PDF/8en.pdf
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archive/650x0b1.pdf
PARSE. Insight project. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.parse-insight.eu
RLG-OCLC. (2002). Report on Trusted Digital Repositories: Attributes and Responsibilities.
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Chapter 9
Managing Change in Reference and Information Services
in Digital Environment
Shantanu Ganguly TERI New Delhi, India
Shweta Pandey
Indus World School of Business (IWSB), India
ABSTRACT
Libraries and librarians are no longer the sole providers of reference and information services. Reference services have traditionally played a crucial role in the delivery of library services both in the public and academic spheres. However, developments in Web technologies have seen the emergence of online or digital reference services, which many initially feared sought to replace the traditional library-based personalized service. A digital library is not merely a means of access to information over the network.
As long as “library” word is attached to the concept, a digital library does and should care about users and communities that are in need of information and services just like conventional libraries. “Services”, therefore, should be one of the crucial aspects of digital libraries. In the recent trend, reference services have taken a central place in library and information services. Sometimes, they are also regarded as personalized services since in most cases a personal discussion takes place between a user and a refer- ence librarian. The librarian point to the sources that are considered to be most appropriate to meet WKHVSHFL¿FLQIRUPDWLRQQHHGVRIWKHXVHU6LQFHWKH:HEDQGGLJLWDOOLEUDULHVDUHPHDQWIRUSURYLGLQJ direct access to information sources and services without the intervention of human intermediaries, the pertinent question that appears is whether we need reference services in digital environment, and, if so, how best to offer such services. This chapter looks at the inevitable change taking place in the platform of reference services.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-767-1.ch009
INTRODUCTION
Library is the richest information treasure of hu- man knowledge and cultural wealth, and should be able to meet effectively the challenges of the new technology revolution. However, the develop- ments in advanced technology have provided good opportunities for the survival and development of traditional libraries of different types. The library, as a traditional information institution, is undergo- ing radical changes in its information service in the new era. With more and more digital materials available to the reader, the library no longer simply collects printed materials only but provide access resources 24x7. As for library users, their reading habits and usage of reading materials have also changed. The increased use of computers and especially expansion of internet based resources has led to some modifications in the methods of academic work, such as undertaking research, writing articles, and producing teaching materials.
Developing an efficient digital library cannot be
“the” answer for the digital user community, but providing an effective digital library services can only suffice the requirements. For this reason, both before and after developing a digital library, user studies are helpful in both improving the library system’s performance and user satisfaction.
Recent changes in computer and communica- tion technologies, especially the introduction and development of the Internet and its associated Web technologies in the course of the past decade have significantly influenced both the way libraries provide information services to their patrons and the way patrons choose to access information. For example, a large number of Web-based reference services have appeared over the past few years.
While dotcom companies provide most of these services, some libraries and library consortia have also introduced Web-based reference and information services. Such services are termed
“virtual” or “digital” reference services. Digital reference services in India are slowly picking up the race to compete.