Digital Libraries
Improvements in storage technology and computer networks have made possible
the creation of collections of articles, books, multimedia documents, and
other results of an emerging electronic publishing industry. Advances in
information access theory, techniques, and systems allow these collections
to become easily accessible for searching, browsing, reading, research,
and re-use - transforming them into value-added digital libraries.
Building upon various research projects at Virginia Tech, and using resources
of the Computing Center and the Department of Computer Science, Project
Envision was funded for 1991-94 by the National Science Foundation, and
aided by ACM. This project, to build a User-Centered Database from the Computer
Science Literature, has supported courses by providing access to readings,
hypertext collections, algorithms, images, and specialized software. Another
project, Interactive Learning with a Digital Library in Computer Science,
has NSF support for 1993-96 and continues these efforts. In particular,
CS4984 has been developed in conjunction with work on this project, whose
results will be made available for class demonstrations, laboratory exercises,
homeworks, and independent research.
In early 1996 IBM, through its SUR program, has donated $250K worth of digital
library equipment, to go along with additional equipment purchased with
Virginia Tech ($80K) and NSF funds ($90K). This large system includes a
large 4 processor SMP machine building on RS/6000 and PowerPC technology,
a hierarchical storage manager, and over 2 terabytes of DLT-based tertiary
tape storage.
fox@cs.vt.edu
Mon Jan 16 04:19:35 EST 1995