Access -- Index -- Glossary

Introduction to the online documentation for the National Digital Library Program

Contents of this page

• About the online NDLP documentation
• About the current status of the online NDLP documentation
• Access the online NDLP documentation
• Please provide feedback -- IMPORTANT

See also NDLP reports and articles published elsewhere online

About the online NDLP documentation

This documentation is intended as a working compilation of documents and diagrams relating to the technical framework for the National Digital Library Program, to be accessible only within the Library of Congress (LC) and to partners in the program. By taking advantage of the hypertext features of the WWW, the same resource can provide a general overview and opportunities to explore some aspects or issues more deeply and/or in a more formal technical description. Since the National Digital Library Program exists within a national context, the documentation will also point to relevant documents available elsewhere on the WWW. The hope is that the compilation can also serve as a "bulletin-board" for an NDLP working group to "post" a discussion draft for comments by others whose NDLP activities may be affected by decisions made by the group.

Since diagrams are an important part of any technical documentation, a graphical WWW browser (e.g. Netscape or WebExplorer) is strongly recommended.

The online NDLP Documentation is not currently intended for public access. It is mounted on a "test" World Wide Web (WWW) server at LC, and may remain on the test server indefinitely. From time to time, polished documents derived from this compilation may be published in print or on the public LCWEB WWW server.

Anyone involved with the NDLP who has prepared a document that they believe would be valuable to other participants should contact Caroline Arms at caar@loc.gov or 7-0105 if they are prepared to contribute the document to this compilation. Contributed documents can be in almost any form, although a machine-readable copy is preferable to a version on paper.

About the current status of the online NDLP Documentation

The content is far from comprehensive, and many "pages" are merely place-holders. This resource is intended to be dynamic, adapting as the digital collection expands, as the technological architecture changes to provide a long-term structure, and as procedures become more routine.

The editor's current plan is to provide two structural views of the NDLP. The first view will be based on processes involved in building or using the digital library, describing sequences of tasks or operations, with related inputs and outputs. The second view will be organized according to the overall architecture, describing functional components, their characteristics, and how they relate to each other. Both views will provide access to sections that discuss important issues relating to the processes or architectural components, and to related background documents.

The editor can not be an expert in all areas of the NDLP. In some cases, the documentation may represent an idealized version of procedures rather than the way things have been done in practice. In others, it may provide a viewpoint taken from a single source, one that others might not share. It is important that anyone involved with the NDLP who feels that anything here is wrong or misleading provide feedback.

Once the online documentation has been up and in use for some time, most of the text on this page will be hidden behind links, and the "access" section will be at the top of the page.

Access the NDLP documentation

Process-based view

The sample section below is very much in draft form, but provides an idea of what the editor has in mind.

• Adding an NDLP collection to the digital library

Architecture-based view

The active links below point to sections that are more fully developed. The other topics listed are areas which will (in time) be added.

• An introduction (in 6 short parts) to the Structure of the Digital Archive, including the concept of a repository that provides security and controlled access. More detailed descriptions are available for:
  • the Handle Server (under development with CNRI)
  • and the Hierarchical Storage Management system
• Digital Resources, including discussions of how to describe and identify them
• Access Aids and Tools, including indexes, finding aids and catalog records
  Note that the indexes are not viewed as inside the digital archive, which only provides collection management and storage functions (see diagram.)
• The underlying Network Architecture, including discussion of network protocols that make a national digital library possible.

Support tools for the NDLP documentation

• Index of pages
  For now, the index is simply an alphabetical list of pages with active links. As the resource grows, an alternative approach may be needed.
• Glossary of terms -- very skimpy at present -- contributions and suggestions welcome.

Please provide feedback

• Are the overview descriptions and explanations clear?
• Are more detailed descriptions of areas or issues with which you are familiar correct?
• Would you like to suggest terms to add to the glossary?
• Is there a particular aspect of the NDLP that you would like to see described here soon?
• Do you know of a document that should be included?
• Did you notice any typographical errors?
• Does something look strange on your WWW browser?

Introduction --
(4/3/96)