THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DIGITAL LIBRARY:
A FRAMEWORK FOR PLANNING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

APPENDIX B

A Vision of the University of California Digital Library

There are several additional characteristics to the UCDL which the Executive Working Group envisions:

• The UCDL will be content-based.

  Managing content--not media or technology--will be its primary role. For users, containers and formats should appear to be incidental, although their variety will make an unprecedented range of content accessible. The UCDL will contain or provide access to: electronic versions of existing published literature; new literature created solely in electronic form; specialized data bases such as image collections, scientific data, and text corpora; primary source data such as archival materials, manuscripts and newspapers; formal and informal network communications. New forms of scholarly communication in the humanities and sciences will no doubt generate new kinds of content. We expect the UCDL to have one collection, with little or no duplication and with links to paper collections, but this will not reside in a single location or organizational unit. For this potential to be realized, academic and collecting communities around the world must cooperate to establish standards of quality and significance.
  

• The UCDL will be user-centered.

  Campus-based user interfaces will facilitate easy interaction with content across UC. User interfaces will serve as a framework for the integration of on-line productivity tools from the commercial sector as well as other parts of the University involved in software development. Some examples are tools for browsing, information retrieval, visualization, statistical analysis, authoring, communication, and multimedia instructional materials. Users will be able to customize the toolset and content base for their own needs regardless of their operating platforms.
  

• The UCDL will integrate human services with digital content and tools.

  Experience has demonstrated that the proliferation of information sources and formats creates a rising demand for expert assistance. At the same time, the regular entry of large numbers of new users into the University community requires repeated instruction in fundamental skills--as well as human guidance to induct newcomers into the Universityís knowledge community. To meet these needs, services will be interactive, personal, and available at many sites. They will support research, electronic publishing, personal information management, distance learning, instructional development, and community service.
  

• The UCDL will be ubiquitous in UC.

  Content and many services will be available on a 24x7 basis, over networks which serve not only campuses but remote sites such as homes and offices. Achievement of this goal requires institution-wide provision of robust and regularly updated communications and technical infrastructure and sufficient human resources to respond to complex and evolving needs.

Last updated: 31 January 1997