The Digital Assets Repository ( or ''DAR'') is a system developed at the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) by the
International School of Information Science (ISIS) to create and maintain digital library collections and preserve them to future generations.
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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.
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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.
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Access
BA announced launching the largest Arabic
digital library
A digital library (also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, a library without walls, or a digital collection) is an online database of digital resources that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital ...
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
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] for
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
visitors directly via DAR's website. The site supports three languages interface:
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
,
English and
French, and is listed at
Egypt's Government Services Portal (Bawaba) website.
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DAR website allows its online visitors to access full content of the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
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 legal 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, ...
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
*
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
*
Islandora
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