Chapter 6 - Evolving Digital Library and Library Digitization

Abstract

The prosperity of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has led to a high tide for the digital revolution in libraries worldwide. To deliver and disseminate a world of information at users' fingertips, many libraries have launched digital library or institutional repositories. This chapter explores the surging waves of the digital revolution and its impacts on libraries around the world. In the networked cyberspace, the mass digitization of library archives or published works does not represent only a way of preserving human civilization or promoting scholarly information across the academic landscape. The developing trend toward digital libraries and library digitization has thoroughly changed libraries from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers. It means that libraries worldwide have more power to deliver, disseminate, produce, and share information in the modern information society. To promote more library creation and innovation, a number of popular proprietary and open source software has also been reviewed in different IT architectures. Finally, practical suggestions have been made for initializing and implementing library digital projects.