NOBLE Digital Library

How does it work?

The NOBLE Digital Library uses the DSpace platform.

Image files and metadata are imported into DSpace using PERL scripts.

Images are categorized into collections designated by the library.

Items can be searched by keyword or browsed by communities, collection, author, title, etc.

Where’s our stuff?

DSpace organizes content by “communities.”

Each NOBLE library is considered an individual community.

Each community may have multiple collections.

NOBLE Digital Library

Digital Formats

The majority of items currently in NOBLE Digital Library are images.

Postcards

Then and Now…Center School, Reading, Mass.

Date: 2008 Date: ?

DSpace can accommodate almost any format or file type, including:

Documents Books Theses Audio files Video files

What’s the benefit?

Greater exposure for your digital collections.

Secure, stable storage of images that is also accessible to users

Brings together aspects of a shared local history

Multiple exposures

Adding collections to the NOBLE Digital Library does not preclude you from adding the same images to:

--Flickr

--Library website or blog

--Library catalog

Sharing the wealth

Digital Library is OAI compliant—data are “harvested” by services that we choose—currently only the Digital Commonwealth.

Digital Commonwealth “The Digital Commonwealth is a gateway (a web

portal) to digital assets hosted by Massachusetts cultural institutions.  Cultural institutions include libraries, museums, historical societies, archives, research institutions, and other repositories of our cultural heritage.”

Digital Commonwealth

http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/

Geotagging content

Embedded tags “travel with” images to FLICKR

Enable mapping options (Google Maps, Google Earth)

Geosetter

Adding image locations to Google Earth

Enhancing image metadata

Creation of local “authority records” will enhance informational content

Local history WordPress site: http://www.noblenet.org/local_history/

Where we are at

Seven NOBLE libraries are participating 19 of collections 2,917 items archived (as of 5-7-2008)