Vision
The Library of Congress is trying to extend its brick and mortar library services to include services to the entire web. While the original Library was focused on the needs of the US Congress, dealing with the whole world through the Internet is something it is still struggling with. The collection includes an eclectic mix of documents, images, videos and sound recordings. Images include maps, sheet music, handwritten documents, drawings and architectural diagrams. The goal of a Library of Congress Internet Library should be to provide access to those materials unique to the Library of Congress, and a clear guide to any internet materials related to the United States.
If you search "digital library project" +"library of congress" on the web, you will get a cluttered view of what the Library of Congress is providing. The Library of Congress Global Gateway at site:international.loc.gov has about 200,000 documents currently. The main page provides links but no context. The American Memory at site:memory.loc.gov has about 350,000 documents. The main page is similarly vague.
An Internet Library is more than a haphazard collection of materials on an internet server. It serves an entire world, not just those who can afford subscription feeds, or who receive grants through US government agencies. Likewise it does not discriminate against very young users, or languages other than English. Its purpose, scope and contents are readily understood at any location within the site. It is not needlessly repetitive. It recognized the value of the users' time, and makes every effort to constantly improve performance and the users' success.
Because materials are available to anyone – of any age or background, in any country – an Internet Library needs to be more open and inclusive. LoC is just beginning to serve the needs of the world's internet users.
Topics Mentioned:
- America – Industry, Technology, Cities, Towns, Culture, Literature, Performing Arts, Music, Folklife, Architecture, Landscape, Environment, Sports, Recreation,
- America – Government, Military, Law, Religion, Advertising, Conservation,
- America – Presidents, Women's History, African American History, Native American History, American Expansion, Immigration, War
- Missing – Sciences, Universities, Occupations, American Resources other than LoC, Agriculture, Arts,
- Missing – Wiki tools, User communities to improve the site, Internet Maps,
Content Mentioned: Bibliographic databases, Online Catalogs, current issues of favorite journals, new acquisitions, indexes to journal literature, references from scholarly publications, lists of readings, classroom presentations, lesson plans, "valuable materials", articles, textbooks
User Categories Mentioned: School teachers, scholars, students, internet users,
User Purposes Mentioned: Term papers, presentations, reports, online projects,
Read more about this topic: Library Of Congress Digital Library Project
Famous quotes containing the word vision:
“One will meet, for example, the virtual assumption that what is relative to thought cannot be real. But why not, exactly? Red is relative to sight, but the fact that this or that is in that relation to vision that we call being red is not itself relative to sight; it is a real fact.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)
“Thinking is seeing.... Every human science is based on deduction, which is a slow process of seeing by which we work up from the effect to the cause; or, in a wider sense, all poetry like every work of art proceeds from a swift vision of things.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“It’s a failure of national vision when you regard children as weapons, and talents as materials you can mine, assay, and fabricate for profit and defense.”
—John Hersey (1914–1993)