Access Impact on Technology in a Digital Library Adolf Knoll National Library of the Czech Republic

Digital Library Story  1992 – first digitization attempts  1996 – routine digitization (manuscripts)  2000 – routine digitization (periodicals)  2000 two national programmes (calls for proposals) two national programmes (calls for proposals) Memoria (MSS, old printed books, historical maps)Memoria (MSS, old printed books, historical maps) Kramerius (acid-paper library documents digitized through preservation microfilm)Kramerius (acid-paper library documents digitized through preservation microfilm)

Storage and access  Storage of produced documents off-line (magnetic tapes, CDR, harddisks) off-line (magnetic tapes, CDR, harddisks) on-line (robotic library with magnetic tapes) on-line (robotic library with magnetic tapes)  Access Memoria Digital Library ( Memoria Digital Library ( Kramerius Digital Library ( Kramerius Digital Library (

Users and Imaging  digitization for access more researchers = more competition in historical research more researchers = more competition in historical research what did they need? what did they need? continuous co-operation with them to set up the quality levelscontinuous co-operation with them to set up the quality levels resolution and lossy compression in JPEG resolution and lossy compression in JPEG suprise – they needed less quality than we had imaginedsuprise – they needed less quality than we had imagined how the documents should be presented how the documents should be presented

Off-line vs. On-line access  change in user communities – on-line access required  user-tailored images for: thumbnail, preview, Internet, user, and high quality access in 1996 thumbnail, preview, Internet, user, and high quality access in 1996 thumbnail, preview, low, normal, black-and-white quality access in 2003 thumbnail, preview, low, normal, black-and-white quality access in 2003  Newly generated ca. 425,000 pages from archival images (new parameters) in Memoria  Newly generated almost 1,000,000 user page images in DjVu in Kramerius (here only one quality level per page)

Communication  proprietary SGML-based language in 1996 DOBM DTD ENTER DTD ENTER.SGM manuscripts ENTER.SGM periodicals ENTER.SGM music

XML Platform  newly agreed descriptive standards for manuscripts (MASTER DTD) for manuscripts (MASTER DTD) draft for periodicals (DIEPER project) draft for periodicals (DIEPER project) draft for technical description for digital still images draft for technical description for digital still images  more accentuated needs to communicate with others

Available Document Type Definitions  Manuscripts and Old Printed Books (Memoria)  Digitized Periodicals (Kramerius)  Digitized Monographs (Kramerius)  Full texts of medieval and early modern manuscripts (Memoria)  Data Interchange with the Memoria Digital Library (draft – Memoria)  Museum Objects (draft)  Audio Documents (to be prepared)

Access and users  Operation of the Digital Library costs money  Researchers require free access  They do not contact acquisition departements in their institutions to purchase license for access  Search of sustainability

Where to go?  (standards)  (licensed access) to pay or to participate to pay or to participate shared catalogue and digital library (UL Wrocław, UL Bratislava, NUL Zagreb, …, in future hopefully also Academy of Sciences Library Vilnius, …) shared catalogue and digital library (UL Wrocław, UL Bratislava, NUL Zagreb, …, in future hopefully also Academy of Sciences Library Vilnius, …)  (copyright problems – access on site for dcouments published since 1880)