Hierarchical Representation of Information Objects in a Digital Library Environment

Abstract

This paper studies the problem of building a modern information society as a task of forming a virtual knowledge space. This task can be implemented on the IT platform of a digital library, which ensures the formation and provision of information resources in various areas to general public users. It shows how electronic copies of objects of a library, archive and museum storage represented in the form of texts, graphic images, and audio/video objects, including 3D-models, can be integrated using digital library facilities. The concept of a hierarchical level of electronic objects is introduced. The definitions of objects of various levels are given and the principles of work with objects of each level are formulated. The hierarchical representation of electronic objects in a digital library environment is proposed. A distinction between thematic, theme-specific, and interdisciplinary collections is shown. The information environment for forming subtheme collections is represented as a set of databases created by information fund holders. This environment is distributed and unified in terms of the software and hardware used, as well as in terms of a set of requirements for digital images being formed. The paper formulates the basic principles of forming collections of various levels in a digital library environment and reflects the developed digital solutions that ensure their implementation. For each hierarchical level, it gives examples of objects and collections provided on the portal of the Scientific Heritage of Russia Digital Library (SHR DL) and formed in compliance with the proposed principles and digital solutions. In particular, the paper describes in detail the thematic collection of publications in mathematics being a database formed through LibMeta DBMS; interdisciplinary collection “Garden of Life” created in collaboration with one of the Russian museums, and some other collections.