As shown in the figure, a fully
developed digital library environment involves the following elements:
1. Initial conversion of content from
physical to digital form.
2. The extraction or creation of
metadata or indexing information describing the content to facilitate
searching and discovery, as well as administrative and structural metadata
to assist in object viewing,management, and preservation.
3. Storage of digital content and
metadata in an appropriate multimedia repository.
The repository will include rights
management capabilities to enforce intellectual property rights, if
required. E-commerce functionality may also be present if needed to handle
accounting and billing.
4. Client services for the browser,
including repository querying and workflow.
5. Content delivery via file transfer
or streaming media.
6. Patron access through a browser or
dedicated client.
