Digital libraries in China: progress and prospects

Abstract

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of Chinese digital library (DL) projects via the corresponding web sites, It also seeks to illustrate the current situation of DLs in China by offering insights into the digitization of resources, technologies and services. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire was designed on the basis of the definition and features of digital libraries, together with the relevant library homepages and services. Overall, ten comprehensive universities and their library web sites, five public libraries and one science library were selected for comparison and analysis focusing on the content set-up, digital resources, navigation systems, mainstream modes, home-grown databases construction, user instruction training programs etc. Other issues including the virtual reference, service (VRS), academic information resource portal and integrated searching system or platform, personalized service, logon and authentication are also discussed. Findings - All the selected libraries are operational digital libraries or prototypes. The electronic or digital resources are made up of two parts and the mainstream modes are service-oriented. Most have their own library information portals and provided integrated searching. However, there are some defects in term unification on some home pages, unified retrieval platform selection among various databases, and navigation system construction. Practical implications - This paper presents a perspective of how DLs in China have been developing in the past few years. It also indicates the existing problems and difficulties and suggests the practical ways to optimize the application, standards, laws and rules, personal information environment, logon and authentication based on encryption. In addition, Open Access resources' utilization, conflict between copyright protection and resources sharing, and user interface customizing are addressed. Originality/value - This paper describes the general status of Chinese digital library construction. It provides relevance for researchers and the public in China as well as other countries on the DL construction experiences, efforts and achievements. It also highlights the importance and value of sharing experience in DL construction.

Introduction

Resulting from the automation and networking of a library, the main goal of a digital library (DL) is to advance the methods used to collect, store, organize, and use widely-distributed knowledge resources that contain diverse types of information and content stored in a variety of electronic forms. The technology of DL includes digitized resources finding, processing, sorting, storage, transmission and management. DL means numerous medium resource groups of distribution, super large-scale and easy conversion and thus people can get information services which cannot be restricted by time or regions via the internet ([9] Li, 2002). In a narrow sense, DL is a specific organization, which uses modern information, computer and network technology to dig, collect, sort, and store informational resources. It is a network system node and concrete locus applied to scientific products ([9] Li, 2002). According to [28] William (2001), an informal definition of DL is a managed collection of information, with associated services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over a network.

We hold that the core issue of a DL is to provide fast information dissemination through digital resources. Like the increasing development of information technology, more and more "digital library" projects have been initiated, performed and enhanced by the enormous growth of the internet in the past few years in many developed countries. Shen provides a general review with detailed introduction of the major projects relating to China Academic Digital Library (CADL) Construction ([23] Shen et al. , 2007). In order to investigate how digital libraries have been developed and improved in China, we have select the web sites of the top ten university libraries ranked nationwide based on the factual data of Ministry of Education, five public libraries identified as the best ones provincially and one well-known science library, focusing on their Virtual Reference Service (VRS), Library Academic Information Resource Portal (LAIRP) and Integrated Searching (Meta-search) System or Platform to compare and analyze their content set-up, digital resources, mainstream modes, subject navigation systems, home-grown databases construction, user instruction/training programs and other important issues.

Investigation and analysis of digital libraries in China

According to the general questionnaire of Chinese Key University Comprehensive Rankings 2005 on Net-big ([18] Netbig, 2005) and the list of 100 key universities rating rankings 2006 on Sina Net ([29] Wu et al. , 2006), together with the university name-list of Ministry of Education and combinational analysis, we selected ten universities and their library web sites. The investigation questionnaire and results are listed in Table I [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. We chose five public libraries and one science library according to the visiting times and usage of their web sites. The survey items for these libraries are given in Table II [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. Based on the DL definition and features, we understand and realize that all the investigated libraries are DLs or at least initial prototypes and they are as good as the Chinese National Science Digital Library - though most of them are not called DL in China or internet ([16] National Science Library, 2007; [5] Chinese National Science Digital Library, 2006). Some libraries set up their sub-homepages of DL for their own unique digitized or ordered resources and collections. What follows are some findings and discussion.

Virtual reference service (VRS) and mainstream mode

Through the survey we found that all these libraries can provide Virtual Reference Service (VRS) except for one library. From the homepage set-up and the types of digital resources, we know that the mainstream mode of every library is service-oriented which is common in Chinese academic libraries,and this is, we believe, the same case with some other foreign university libraries, for example, California Digital Library. In addition to the usual mode of libraries, the other is a special resource mode which emphasizes the distribution and service based on their special resources. For example, the Shanghai Digital Library of Shanghai Library digitized various types of materials containing the native collections of treasures like rare books, ancient books, manuscripts, pictures, photographs, audio-visual materials and so on, to provide specialized services. The special mode service is much like the "American Memory".

The survey also shows that the commercial database mode does not exist in Chinese academic libraries and public libraries. It is only limited to the literature publication corporations, publishing houses, business agents. They establish the commercial document digital libraries and provide full-text e-journals, magazines and electronic books etc. For example, Super-Star library has provided about one million full-text on-line-reading electronic books.

Digital resources

In general, the electronic or digital resources are made up of two types, normally classified by sorted library resources consisting of digitized information resource databases of their own library and commercial databases. Their own databases of the investigated universities cover many categories including the databases of master and doctoral dissertations, digitized special collections, subject navigation systems, library cataloging systems providing users query, and so on. The purchased databases range from online electronic publications exemplified by Elsevier e-journals, Kluwer On-line Journals, EBSCO Host Research Databases, IEEE/IEE digital Library (IEL) etc., imported by the libraries from different vendors in the foreign countries; to the mirroring databases exemplifying Chinese full-text databases, EI Compendex Web and the other mirror image stations arranged and used on Chinese local networks or campuses and various types of CD-ROM databases captured or retrieved by end users via campus nets. Comparing this survey with the last DL investigation in 2004 ([31] Zhao et al. , 2005), we find that the electronic resources have been rapidly increasing in recent three years, especially the home-grown science databases, e.g. the databases of navigation on net resources of key disciplines and specific resource databases. Not only the quantity but also the quality has been increasing tremendously. It is worth mentioning that both librarians and researches recognize the importance of Open Access (OA) resources, therefore the exploitation and usage of them prevail in various types of libraries, enriched by some new self-construction homegrown databases.

Library academic information resource portal and DL platform

According to the survey, there were less than three library portals in 2004, but nowadays most libraries create their own uniform retrieval platforms or integrated searching systems to provide gateway services, including searching/browsing databases of electronic resources, cross searching systems of bibliographic databases and other databases of metadata, common interfaces, logon and authentication, profiles of user community, customization options for users and statistical reports, etc. This implies that more and more librarians and researchers understand and realize the importance of library portal. Users can easily access and compare various information resources through their library portals and meta-searching systems.

Personalized service system

At the time we are digitizing a great capacity of publications, more and more librarians recognize that they should construct or select a personalized/customizable user interface or system for sets of library collections and services because users expect to enter the system, register, select a discipline, and use the databases, texts, and library links to do their research. So the user-driven "MyLibrary" concept designed to create the relationship between information resources and people emerged consequently. No doubt, it is a great advancement from implementing library portal to cognizing and emphasizing on the DL Personalized Service System. Good experiences from home and abroad on building the DL personalized service system are helpful, for example MyLibrary from CSDL, Zhejiang and Renmin University, MyLibrary@Cornel ([6] Cohen et al. , 2000), PIE@HeadLine ([8] Gambles, 2001) and so on.

Meanwhile, the MyLibrary concept seems easy to accept, but more difficult to implement, according to our survey and experience. We find that many users are not familiar with the idea of actively customizing the user interface and they do not play an active role in customizing their user interfaces in librarians' reference services. The same thing occurs in developed countries. For example, MyLibrary@NCState did not run very well when it came to usability tests. Brantley described how users had difficulty "understanding the discipline-specific nature" of MyLibrary@NCState and its popularity only lasted about five years ([1] Brantley et al. , 2006). However, we believe its popularity will come more apparent in the future. MyLibrary-like applications will spring up all over the library landscape and more and more "improved MyLibrary" will be created for more DL applications.

Logon and authentication system

The two tables show that except for two libraries short of LAIRP most of the investigated libraries have their own user logon and authentication systems each of which contains user security, server security and network security. They all use encryption to deal with the DL network threat.

Homepage set-up and services

To establish a convenient DL reference service environment for researchers and students, the column set-up on university and academic library homepage is almost identical and the services offered are similar, e.g. Novelty Search, Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services(ILL/DDS), Links, Featured Services, Catalog, News, Thesis and Dissertation Submitting etc., slightly differ based on their special library resources. The content and function of their homepage columns resemble although sometimes presented with different headings or titles, for example, the column of user instruction may vary from "Reader Guides" to "User Guides" or "Service Guides". Now the homepage set-up has been enormously enhanced and the term unification has been largely improved compared with the results obtained in 2004 ([31] Zhao et al. , 2005). The last two surveyed libraries (Library of Chinese Academy of Sciences ([10] Library of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2006) and Chinese National Science Digital Library ([5] Chinese National Science Digital Library, 2006)) are incorporated into one ([16] National Science Library, 2007) and the current homepage is more concise and unified though the services provided remain the same. We also find that some university libraries have inset OA resources or links in their portal system.

Navigation system

The survey indicates that all the investigated libraries have their own navigation systems and databases, aware of the importance of navigating the net resources in recent years. Actually, nowadays, many key university libraries have already built their own net resource navigation databases organized and supervised by China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) ([3] China Academic Library and Information System, 2006; [17] The Navigation of Net Resources of Key Disciplines, 2007). In 2004, Zhao found that the navigation system neither had the standard criteria or specification, nor had enough records ([31] Zhao et al. , 2005). We have been paying more attention to them and modified the standard in the last three years. It is noted that the key university libraries have net resource navigation databases, and the navigation system portal of CALIS works well. Up till now, 78 databases of key disciplines for navigation have been constructed and most of them are open and accessible on the internet. At the same time, many specific resource databases are improved and available.

User instruction/training

When we browse the surveyed homepages, many news and plans relating to user training show us that subject librarians give training courses regularly and database vendors also provide training sessions frequently, which is beneficial to users to learn how to use the database or approach a new method or customize an interface to search and locate full-texts.

DL construction principles, rules and standard criteria

One of the core issues of DL construction is how to create enough digital resources. In order to ensure the digital resources construction in a scientific and orderly way, three unification rules of planning, operation, technology and standard in the DL designing and building process need to be followed in China. These three rules offer an adequate foundation for resources construction and resources sharing. We should collaborate and cooperate in the course of DL construction, as it requires massive funds and cannot be solely sponsored by government or merely fulfilled by each library alone. CALIS, as a liaison, has gathered 22 Chinese university libraries together to set up China Academic Digital Library Alliance which aims specifically at integrated planning, unifying standard, united building and resources sharing ([2] China Academic Library and Information System, 2006). The newly united item of building academic master and doctoral dissertation database proposed by CALIS, set up a good model for us and the unifiers, are able to build and share the digital resources. The navigation databases of key disciplines for networked resources and the databases of specific resources of CALIS have been running well up till now.

Problems and difficulties

Since the mid-1990s, DL construction has enchanted the library community in China. Many leading libraries in China start the DL projects and finalize their integrated automation system. Meanwhile we face quite a few difficulties and problems in DL technology and standards, finance deficiency, conflict between copyright protection and resource sharing, even in the choice of a suitable platform. The copyright may not be neglected when we digitize more and more books, journals and other resources. OA resources and cooperation between Google and library may be helpful to solve our lack of budget.

Conclusions

In short, the DL construction in China aims at establishing an integrated and digital science information service environment for users and we have made great progress in homepage set-up, digitized resources, featured services, navigation system and integrated search and so on. To some extent, the investigated libraries illustrate the overall level and highest quality in the research and development of digital library in China, in consideration of their digital supporting technology, digitization resources, and digital service level. In recent years, many exciting achievements in DL construction have been made not only worldwide but also nationwide - the "Chinese digital library standard (CDLS)" was settled in September 2004, mainly aiming at the construction and service of digital resources and recently established DL standard, rules, development strategies, frames and core criteria systems, etc. We believe that CDLS provides a dependable and precise technical guarantee for digital library construction and will speed up the DL construction in China. The net resource navigation system portal of CALIS and the China-US Million Book Digital Library Project are the other DL construction fruits in China ([31] Zhao et al. , 2005; [4] China-America Digital Academic Library, 2007). We are clear that the function and service of Chinese digital libraries need to be improved and optimized continuously for it would be a great project related to many issues including application environment, standards, laws, rules, technology and professionals and so on.

References

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Appendix

About the authors

Leye Yao, PhD, is the Director of Sichuan University Library, and a professor at the School of Public Administration at Sichuan University, PR China. He is currently serving as a member of University Library and Information Service Steering Committee in the Ministry of Education and the Expert Committee of China Academic Humanities and Social Sciences Library (CASHL), Deputy Chairman of Sichuan Society for Library Science, Deputy Director and Secretary General of Sichuan Academic Library and Information Working Committee. His research interests are knowledge management and digital library. Leye Yao is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Ping Zhao, PhD is a senior research librarian and in charge of the Information Reference Service at the library of Sichuan University, PR China. Her research interests lie in Retrieval and Inquiry, Digital Library and Information Management. She is a Vice Deputy Chairman of Sichuan and Chongqing Information Science Institute for Academic Libraries.

  

Illustration

Table I: Homepage questionnaire of the ten key universities and their libraries

  

Table II: Homepage questionnaire of the five public libraries and one science library