The Digital Assets Repository ( ar, مستودع الأصول الرقمية or ''DAR'') is a system developed at the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...
(BA) by the
International School of Information Science The International School of Information Science (ISIS) in Alexandria, Egypt was founded to initiate, develop, carry out, and promote research and development of activities and projects related to building a universal digital library. ISIS was also c ...
(ISIS) to create and maintain digital library collections and preserve them to future generations.
[
]
The project's main goal is to build a digital resources repository by supporting the creation, use, and preservation of varieties of digital resources as well as the development of management tools. These tools help BA library to preserve, manage and share digital assets. The system is based on evolving standards for easy integration with web-based interoperable digital libraries.
[
]
DAR is designed to manage the full lifecycle of a digital asset: its creation and ingestion, its metadata management, storage and archival in addition to the necessary mechanisms for publishing and dissemination. In 2011, DAR system architecture was revamped and upgraded to its 3rd release in order to answer challenges that face an institution in consolidating its assets.
[
]
Access
BA announced launching the largest Arabic
digital library
A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital me ...
worldwide, maintained by DAR in April 2010 with 130,000 books.
In 2011 and ongoing, the repository reached 185,000
[
] Arabic books out of a 5-language collection of 300,000 books.
DAR provides free public access to the library's
digitized collections through a web-based search and browsing facilities
[
] for
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
visitors directly via DAR's website. The site supports three languages interface:
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
French, and is listed at
Egypt's Government Services Portal (Bawaba) website.
[
]
DAR website allows its online visitors to access full content of the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
digitized books in the repository, but limits access to preview only (5%) snippet for the
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
ed digitized books with 10 pages minimum. Moreover, it provides different viewing options for repository contents, in addition to other tools such as: searching content; using annotation tools; adding sticky notes; tagging, rating and commenting on books; sharing books on social networks; and creating own virtual bookshelves per user.
See also
*
Institutional repository
An institutional repository is an archive for collecting, preserving, and disseminating digital copies of the intellectual output of an institution, particularly a research institution. Academics also utilize their IRs for archiving published work ...
*
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
*
Islandora
Islandora is a free and open-source software digital repository system based on Fedora Commons, Drupal and a host of additional applications. It is open source software (released under the GNU General Public License) and was originally developed ...
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Arseneault, Michel. "Alexandria, from papyrus to the Internet." ''The UNESCO Courier'' 52, no. 4 (April 1999): 40-42
an
* Bilboul, Roger. "The Library of Alexandria Reopens." ''Information Today''19, no. 11 (December 2002): 26.
* Watson, Bruce. "Rising Sun." ''Smithsonian'', April 2002.
External links
Digital Assets RepositoryOfficial DAR website, BA
DAR at the ISIS BA
DAR at the University of Texas
Egyptian digital libraries