A Survey of Digital Library Education
Tefko Saracevic & Marija Dalbello
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
saracevic@scils.rutgers.edu
www.scils.rutgers.edu/~tefko
dalbello@scils.rutgers.edu
www.scils.rutgers.edu/~dalbello
Introduction


Education is dependent activity (linking of
education to digital library research, practice,
organization, and commerce? )
Survey to examine the rationale and current
orientation for digital library education

Identify emerging models

Suggest model for digital library education
Outline





Why teach digital libraries? rationale
What to teach about digital libraries? What is
a “digital library”? content
What is taught about digital libraries? current
applications
How were digital libraries taught? context
Where does that leave us now? conclusions
Why teach Digital Libraries?
Rationale




new form of managing the knowledge
record of post-industrial society
infrastructure in place (digital technology
and networks)
new approaches to sustaining scholarly
communication
DL research and development funded
Combination of social trends and technology
is a push for educational efforts
What to teach about digital
libraries?
Content

What are digital libraries?
 Lesk
(1997)
 Arms (2000)
 Borgman (1999, 2000)
 DLF (Digital Libraries Federation, 1996+)
What are Digital Libraries?

collections with "associated services" (Arms 2000)

persistent collections of digital works "readily and
economically available for use by a defined community
or set of communities" (definition of Digital Libraries
Federation (DLF))

collections "constructed, collected and organized, by
(and for) a community of users," and functional
capabilities of digital libraries to "support the information
needs and uses of that community" (Borgman 1999,
2000)
What to teach about digital
libraries?
Content

What to teach about digital libraries?
Content choices

systems, networks, and technology;
collection and resources in various media;
representation, organization, and
operability; storage and searching;
functionality, access and use; institutions
and services; and user communities and
related applications
What to teach about digital
libraries?
Content

What to teach about digital libraries?
Educational choices
 technology,
resources, organization,
access, institutions, and use, or a mix
thereof
What is taught about digital
libraries?
A survey of applications

Web survey
 website
analysis of 56 ALA-accredited
programs

Email survey
 questionnaire
(listserves: ASIS member list,
JESSE, ACM SIGIR, Humanist Discussion
Group)
What is taught about digital
libraries?
A survey of applications

Web survey: inclusion / integration
 Inclusion:
(47 - 89%)
 Independent
DL courses (15 - 32 %)
 Combination of Independent DL course and
DL content integrated in other courses (8 15%)
 Content integrated in other courses (no
independent DL course) (23 - 49 %)
 Other (content integrated with continuing
education) (1 - 2%)
How were digital libraries
taught?
Context (connecting areas)

Areas of application (for 34 programs):
 tools
(13)
 environment (4)
 objects (3)
 combined (14)
How were digital libraries
taught?
Context (connecting areas)

Areas of application (for 34 programs):
 tools
(technologies and technology based
processes)
 environments (the contexts in which digital
libraries operate)
 objects (representation, structure and life
cycle of documents in various formats)
 combined (several areas of applications
present without any one being distinctive)
How were digital libraries
taught?
Context (connecting areas)

Existing models for digital library education

UBC
 Pittsburgh
 Illinois

U North Texas
 Montreal
 Rhode Island


Michigan
 California (LA)
Rutgers
 California (Berkeley)
 KSU
 Florida
How were digital libraries
taught?
Context (connecting areas)

Suggested model for digital library education to
integrate

Concepts

Access

Content

Preservation

Creation

Management

Organization

Context

Technology
Conclusions

tunnel vision problem
“the current digital library agenda has
largely been set by computer science
community and clearly bears the imprint of
this community’s interests and vision”
(Levy 2000)

integrationist solution
Digital libraries and a question
of purpose
 digital
libraries need to be seen in the
communications’ circuit of creation,
organization, distribution, preservation, and
use of knowledge records and knowledge itself
 integrate
this perspective in educational efforts
Directions for Future Research

Expand study to examine contexts of
integration of digital library education in LIS
curricula (topical) nationally and internationally
 to
identify contexts of integration and gaps in
current offerings
 to identify boundary areas and disciplines (areas
of growth)

Examine other homes of digital library
education beyond LIS (computer science,
medical informatics, digital humanities)