Bits, Bytes, and User Comfort – The Digital Library (DigiBib)

The Digital Library (DigiBib) was founded in 1998 as a joint project of the University Library of Bielefeld and the Service Centre for University Libraries of North Rhine-Westphalia (HBZ), Cologne. The initial aim was to create an Internet portal furthering science, teaching and research for the libraries of universities and universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westfalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate. A uniform work interface to access the relevant digital sources (catalogues and scientific abstract, index and full-text databases) is offered while allowing the participating libraries to develop their own specific profile on the basis of the common platform. With the initial set-up established successfully, it is now planned to expand further and to integrate other user groups and libraries, such as public or school libraries. This article discusses different aspects pertaining to, and sections of, the DigiBib and shows the interaction of the modules with each other in order to achieve an integrated whole. In “Technical Administration and Development of the Digi Bib”, Anette Seiler gives an overview over the development and maintenance of the different modules of the DigiBib software. The section on content and acquisition (“Acquisitions for the Digital Library”, by Erwin Hardeck) deals with the legal, financial, managerial and technical background of acquiring electronic media such as databases and e-journals in, and for, consortia. In “ Public libraries and the DigiBib”, Heiko Jansen describes a groundbreaking project to include public libraries as users of the DigiBib. The section on Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery by Tatjana Mrowka (“The online-ILL module as an integral part of the Digital Library”) presents one of the latest building blocks of the DigiBib offering users immediate and comfortable ordering facilities subsequent to successful searching.