Digital Library Foundations Workshops

The Digital Library Foundation Workshops focused on the release of the Reference Model for Digital Libraries by the DELOS Network of Excellence on Digital Libraries, marking a first step towards establishing a universally accepted unifying framework for digital libraries (DLs). In particular, the “DELOS Reference Model” identifies the basic concepts and relationships characterizing the area and allows for further additions, expansions, and specialisations as the field evolves. The third in the series of Workshops (Denmark 2008) placed special emphasis on moving from the theoretical definition of the model to its concrete exploitation in addressing interoperability between digital libraries and particularly issues surrounding interoperability in large federated DLs.

The Reference Model serves as a well-grounded and very broadly-reaching abstract tool, enabling the DL community to study the issue of interoperability and other related complexities in a systematic fashion, and make substantial progress. Whereas similar efforts in the past have invariably focused on interoperability of content and, occasionally, of functionality, the DELOS DL Reference Model demonstrates the need to deal with interoperability of all the other, equally important DL concepts as well, offering a firm ground for deriving comprehensive and novel methodologies and approaches towards the problem.

Two of the three Workshops dedicated to Digital Library Foundations organised by DELOS took place in 2007 (Canada & Hungary). The third Workshop was set in Denmark in 2008.

Read more on the “Digital Library Foundations” Workshops.