Going Digital Along the Information Highway
The Libraries moved into the forefront of digital library research through the receipt of a Shared University Resources (SUR) grant from IBM for a digital libraries project to study multimedia data acquisition, searching and representation. Others involved in the project include the College of Library and Information Services (CLIS) and the Computer Science Department (CSD). Early broadcast materials from the National Public Broadcasting Archives (NPBA) and the Broadcast Pioneers Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) will serve as data sources for the project. The use of the Internet as a vehicle for the broader dissemination of information about the holdings of the Libraries continued during the year. The offerings of the Marylandia and Rare Books Departments now include virtual exhibits of such disparate collections as Maryland crime novels, newspaper photographs from Baltimore, and original pamphlets from the French Revolution. Going digital has led the Libraries to seek out grant resources. A National Science Foundation partnership grant has been sought to research search techniques for sound recordings using speech technology. This project would involve digitizing 6,600 hours of recordings in the National Public Broadcasting Archives. In addition, Public Services Division staff from the Performing Arts Library, Nonprint Media Services, and Electronic Information Services participated in the planning and development of a proposal for National Science Foundation Digital Libraries Initiative funding.
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