Giuseppina Vullo

Towards a Digital Library Policy and Quality Interoperability Framework: The DL.org Project

Interoperability is a property referring to the ability of systems and organizations to work together. Today interoperability is recognized as a key step in the shift from isolated digital libraries toward a common information space that will allow users to browse through different digital libraries within a single integrated environment. In this paper, we discuss the premises underlying a novel Policy and Quality Interoperability Framework, taking into account the preliminary outcomes and the recommendations of the Policy and Quality Working Groups that are currently being run by the EU co-funded project Digital Library Interoperability, Best Practices, and Modeling Foundations (DL.org).

Paving the Way for Interoperability in Digital Libraries: The DL.org Project

While Digital Libraries are working towards making universally accessible collections of human knowledge a reality, considerable advances are needed in Digital Libraries methodologies and technologies to make this happen. Achieving interoperability between Digital Libraries is a crucial requirement for reaching this goal. Interoperability is a multi-layered and context-specific concept. It encompasses different levels along a multidimensional spectrum ranging from organisational to technological aspects. Addressing the interoperability challenges is the prime goal of the DL.org project. DL.org is advancing the state of the art in this area, and is proposing solutions for interoperability in addition to best practices and shared standards, bringing together knowledge from the DELOS project and expertise of Digital Library stakeholders. To achieve its objectives, the project is looking at the DELOS Digital Library Reference Model and investigating interoperability from the viewpoint of the six fundamental Digital Library concepts: Content, User, Functionality, Quality, Policy, and Architecture. Our paper describes the results of DL.org research, and how the project is addressing the interoperability challenge from the perspectives of the six domains. Relevant Digital Library interoperability aspects will be described, from conceptualisation at a high organisational level to instantiation at process level, and modelling techniques for representing and enabling interoperability between heterogeneous digital library mediation approaches, methods, and systems. By pursuing the interoperability goal, DL.org is paving the way forward for embedding new research achievements into real-world systems, and is supporting the advancement of research and the creation of a European Information Space for the knowledge-based economy.