Joan K. Lippincott,
Coalition for Networked Information, joan@cni.org
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Higher education institutions build digital libraries for
many purposes, but their chief objectives are to make resources
available for research, for teaching and learning, or for both
aspects of the higher education institutional mission. To some
degree, digital libraries can also help fulfill the service
(outreach and community relations) mission of universities.
Typically, the focus of library digitization projects is
to get content with attached metadata up on a website. The
project’s goals can be met by attaining numerical targets
and quality standards in an efficient manner. Assessing the
use of
the collections is an aspect that is often considered a peripheral
part of the project or a topic for later study, which may or
may not take place.
However, many well-established digital library projects have
found that devoting resources to digitization without understanding
user communities results in under utilization of collections.
In particular, they have discovered that specifically addressing
the needs of educators will yield more widespread use of the
digital resources that the projects have developed. While digital
libraries serve all kinds of users who seek new knowledge for
personal growth, career advancement, or entertainment, they
can also be very useful in formal education settings, from
elementary education through higher education. Teachers particularly
value websites that make clear connections between available
materials and specific course topics or educational practices,
and that offer practical guides, curricular materials, learning
objects, and activities that can be adapted or adopted for
their classes. These materials can be used during class sessions
or as supplemental materials outside of class.
One of the United States’ earliest large-scale digitization
projects, the Library of Congress’s American Memory Project < http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/index.html>,
was one of the first institutions to address the need for specialized,
supporting resources to encourage educators to use digitized
historical resources through its “learning pages” feature.
The American Memory website now provides many resources for
teachers and students, making connections between the digital
library content available through the library and the curriculum.
For example, the website provides lesson plans that incorporate
digital content by theme, topic, discipline, or era. Teachers
can adopt or adapt these plans for their local needs. Lessons
plans are available for elementary, secondary, and higher education
levels.
The widely acclaimed Valley of the Shadow Project at the
University of Virginia, which documents two communities during
the American Civil War, includes a guide to the project and
resource pages for teachers < http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/usingvalley/>.
The teacher resource pages include specific references to national
standards as well as suggestions for specific assignments on
various topics.
Some digital library projects go beyond digitization and
preparation of curricular guides to include faculty training.
A number of projects associated with the U.S. National Science
Digital Library (NSDL) have included workshop programs. In
addition, a project involving several liberal arts colleges
in the US has developed summer faculty workshops for teachers
interested in incorporating digitized materials about the Middle
East into their courses. The Al-Musaraka collaborative < http://www2.nitle.org/initiatives/almusharaka.htm> is
an initiative to create English language online resources on
Arab culture and civilization and to encourage collaborative
activities such as course development and delivery among colleges.
In addition, the creators encourage the development of an intellectual
community of faculty with shared interests, who often do not
have counterparts at their home institution.
Developers of digital libraries can assist faculty in understanding
how digital content can be used to enhance teaching and learning.
In one survey of California higher education institutions,
faculty stated that they “used digital resources to improve
their students’ learning, to integrate primary source
materials into their teaching, or to include materials or teaching
methods that would otherwise be unavailable.” i It
is important that faculty understand that the purpose for using
digital content in curricula is not to “use technology” but
to enrich the teaching and learning process. Workshops can
assist faculty in developing mechanisms for integration of
digital content into their teaching.
Some digital library projects, such as those developed in
the Vassar College Media Cloisters < http://mediacloisters.vassar.edu/> include
specially trained student assistants who work closely with
faculty and information professionals to develop digital collections
that have a direct relationship to the curriculum. The program
also offers faculty workshops.
In addition, some digital library projects include creation
of tools that are particularly intended for teaching and learning.
At University of Virginia, faculty and technologists have developed
the “Digital Object Collector Tool” <http://www.lib.virginia.edu/digital/resndev/repository.html> with
which faculty can collect images and create slide shows or
use on web pages. The tool includes capabilities for such techniques
as zooming, panning, and rotating images. ii The
study of California faculty also reinforces the high priority
faculty place on a mechanism by which they can compile digital
resources in a personal collection. iii
Many museum websites are incorporating interactive features
as a means of engaging users, particularly younger audiences.
Digital libraries can adopt some of their practices, such as
using polling mechanisms, inviting visitors to submit information,
etc. One digital library project that already involves students
in contributing materials is the Library of Congress’s
American Memory website, which invites students and others
to submit materials to the website in specific categories,
including interviews with immigrants to the US or family recipes.
As the Digital Library of the Middle East is conceptualized,
consideration should be given to incorporating teaching and
learning goals as an integral part of the library’s mission.
As grant programs are developed, they should address the categories
of users, including students, who could benefit from the digitization
projects and encourage innovative proposals that incorporate
resources related to teaching and learning as well as the primary
digitized content. It would be especially useful to encourage
projects that actively engage students, for example in the
digitization process itself, in helping to create interactive
activities, and in developing innovative teaching tools. Incorporating
digital resources into the curriculum and encouraging student
involvement can assist us in developing a new generation of
users and creators of quality digital resources.
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