From the WWW and Minimal Digital Libraries, to Powerful Digital Libraries: Why and How

Digital libraries have emerged since the early 1990s, distinguished in part by their emphasis on useful content, helpful organization, and a range of services that include at least indexing, searching, and browsing. In the 5S (Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, and Societies) formal model for digital libraries we precisely define key concepts and terms, so the field can move beyond the stage of continually explaining basic ideas and debating definitions. Thus, we define a minimal digital library in terms of clear definitions for repository, metadata catalog, services, and societies, which in turn build upon characterizations of digital object, collection, hypertext, etc.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

   Edward A. Fox

Editors and Affiliations

1. Virginia Tech, 24061, Blacksburg, VA

   Edward A. Fox

2. University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

   Erich J. Neuhold

3. Department of Library Science, Chulalongkorn University, 10330, Bangkok, Thailand

   Pimrumpai Premsmit

4. School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, 12120, Klong Luang, Pathum Thani, Thailand

   Vilas Wuwongse

Reprints and permissions

© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Policies and ethics