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:
“I had a vision of them put together
Not like a man, but like a chandelier.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“For what we call illusions are often, in truth, a wider vision of past and present realities—a willing movement of a man’s soul with the larger sweep of the world’s forces—a movement towards a more assured end than the chances of a single life.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“Whatever else American thinkers do, they psychologize, often brilliantly. The trouble is that psychology only takes us so far. The new interest in families has its merits, but it will have done us all a disservice if it turns us away from public issues to private matters. A vision of things that has no room for the inner life is bankrupt, but a psychology without social analysis or politics is both powerless and very lonely.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)