This article provides an account of the making of KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). The first part discusses the work involved in establishing a lab as both a physical and a digital site for researchers to use digital collections at previously unimaginable scales. The second part explains how the lab has deployed the…

February 12, 1924, is a landmark date in the annals of American music. The story of that snowy afternoon in New York has become almost legendary -- and the tale has undoubtedly become embellished in its telling and retelling over the past 100 years. The occasion was a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music," presented by Paul…

Jointly released by OCLC and the Library of Congress, this white paper compares and contrasts the compatible linked data initiatives at both institutions. It is an executive summary of a more detailed technical analysis that will be released later this year. The white paper summarizes the recent activity of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative…

Libraries are constantly challenged to find ways to demonstrate their value to their institutions. Can hosting a National Library of Medicine (NLM) exhibition increase a library's impact? In 2012 the University of Toledo engaged their constituents by hosting and developing programming for the NLM exhibit Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science,…

For more than 150 years, the United States Government Printing Office (GPO), along with its Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), has supported an informed citizenry and democracy by ensuring access and preservation to a broad swath of federal government information. This collaborative national public information program between local…

Ireland has a rich and long history. It is a land of fable and of strife, from the legendary warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill (anglicized as Finn McCool) and the god-like Tuatha De Danann to the potato famine and the more recent Troubles. In the last decade, Ireland has experienced an economic boom and assumed a new place in the political landscape via…

In this article, the author reviews the "Presidential Timeline" and 12 existing presidential library websites that will help teachers and students to focus on the presidency. The author found that some were much more "teacher-student friendly" than others. All of them had sections for educators, students, or researchers, but many include lesson…

This article presents the narrative accounts of the beginnings of digital library programs in five European national libraries: Biblioteca nacional de Portugal, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Scotland, and the British Library. Based on interviews with policy makers and developers of digital…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate library web sites in Pakistan, to analyse their content and navigational strengths and weaknesses and to give recommendations for developing better web sites and quality assessment studies. Design/methodology/approach: Survey of web sites of 52 academic, special, public and national libraries in…

The Commons on Flickr, comprised of an international community of select libraries, museums, and archives, was a project initially launched in 2008 by the Library of Congress and Flickr. Primary goals of The Commons are to broaden exposure to rich cultural heritage photographs and to observe and participate in the communities of engagement and…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of developments in digitisation policy and practice at the National Library of Wales (NLW) from 1995 to 2007 and drawing out the lessons learnt. Design/methodology/approach: A chronological overview of developments focusing on the pilot phase, policy statements of 2001 and 2005 and on specific…

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse features and functions of indigenously developed web-based catalogues of academic, special and national libraries of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: The assessment of 16 OPACs is based on a 91-item checklist developed with the help of previous studies conducted in other countries. Findings: The paper…

The Presidential Historical Records Preservation Act of 2008 [PL 110-404] requires that the Archivist of the United States submit to Congress a report on alternative models for Presidential archival depositories that: (1) Reduces the financial burden on the Federal Government; (2) Improves the preservation of Presidential records; and (3) Reduces…

In the last few years, technology-savvy librarians have begun turning their attention to a host of new tools to connect with their users and colleagues. The umbrella term for these new technologies--Web 2.0--began gaining traction in 2004. Many librarians were quick to embrace the new wave of technology. Early adopting libraries used blogs to…

This study examines what the public search for in the catalogue of the State Library of Victoria (SLV). As well as indicating the type of content being accessed, this gives an indication of what catalogue users expect of the State Library collection. A content analysis was undertaken of a random, stratified sample of 4,000 search queries typed in…