About the DLF Digital Collections Registry

• What is included in this registry?
• What is the intended use of the registry?
• How are the collection descriptions structured?
• Who created the registry?

This registry highlights 904 publicly accessible digital collections which are hosted by the partners and allies of the Digital Library Federation (DLF). The Digital Library Federation is an international association of libraries and allied institutions. Its mission is to enable new research and scholarship of its members, students, scholars, lifelong learners, and the general public by developing an international network of digital libraries. DLF relies on collaboration, the expertise of its members, and a nimble, flexible, organizational structure to fulfill its mission.

What is included in this registry?

The DLF Digital Collections Registry includes a non-exhaustive list of publicly accessible digital collections created or developed by DLF partners and allies. New collections are being added over time.

This registry includes a full description of each collection. Full descriptions of sub-collections are included as well where appropriate. The information in the registry was gathered on the basis of information supplied by members in their Newsletter reports.

If you are a DLF partner or ally and do not see your collection here, or see a problem with your collection entry, please contact Thomas Habing, Project Coordinator, at thabing@uiuc.edu.

What is the intended use of the registry?

We hope that the DLF Digital Collections Registry will be used by:

• The general public to discover and access interesting and innovative digital collections.
• Institutions and organizations to seek potential collaborators based on the content of their digital collections.
• Educators to find high quality digital collections for use in the classroom.
• Scholars to find high quality digital collections for use in their research.

If you have suggestions about futher enhancements to the DLF Digital Collections Registry please contact Thomas Habing, Project Coordinator, at thabing@uiuc.edu.

How are the collection descriptions structured?

The collection descriptions in the DLF Digital Collection Registry are based on the DLF DCC Collection Description Metadata Scheme, developed by the IMLS DCC project team. This metadata scheme is based on the UKOLN RSLP Collection Description Metadata Scheme and the Dublin Core Collection Description Application Profile . These have been adapted to reflect the particular nature of this registry and to incorporate the needs of DLF.

The following is meant only to give a cursory overview of the scheme. There are four entities described by the scheme:

• the collection;
• the project;
• the institution; and
• the administrator (please note that the public interface to the collection registry does not display the administrator information).

A collection may only have one hosting institution, but may have multiple contributing institutions. A collection may have multiple sub-collections, complementary collections, or source physical collections. A DLF project may have only one administering institution, but may have multiple participating (or collaborating) institutions. The diagram below illustrates the relationships between these entities.

The IMLS DCC Collection Description Metadata Schema reuses metadata elements from other schemas and adapts their use. We have also developed elements that are needed for our purposes, but have mapped these to other standards as is possible. A detailed look at individual elements, their attributes, and guidance on use is available.

Who created the registry?

The DLF Digital Collections Registry is based on the IMLS Digital Collections Registry that was developed for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The DLF Digital Collections Registry is hosted by and was created by staff at the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We also wish to acknowledge the earlier version of this registry hosted by the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library and DLXS.