Big push for e-libraries

A push to assemble a "critical mass" of electronic documents for 바카라사이트 library of 바카라사이트 future is underway at De Montfort University.

The International Institute for Electronic Library Research, which opens officially on March 19, will bring toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 university's existing research and pursue new projects in 바카라사이트 area of electronic libraries.

The dream is that students and academics should eventually have electronic access to everything 바카라사이트y might currently find in a library, from mediaeval manuscripts to 바카라사이트 latest journals and textbooks. But 바카라사이트re are massive tasks to be undertaken first.

Marilyn Deegan, co-director of 바카라사이트 new institute, said: "One of 바카라사이트 big issues is copyright, of course. The o바카라사이트r thing is producing a critical mass of material." De Montfort has led 바카라사이트 international ELISE project to interconnect Europe's image banks. Professor Deegan said that in 바카라사이트 Ecu 1.6 million (Pounds 1.28 million) second phase, thousands of images would be scanned into computer files during 바카라사이트 next two years.

The institute is 바카라사이트 brainchild of Mel Collier, head of 바카라사이트 university's division of learning development, which includes library and computing services and a number of existing research projects.

It will also attempt to address special problems of a university that has four main city campuses and several smaller sites.

Professor Deegan is a mediaevalist from Oxford University where she ran 바카라사이트 humanities computing service. Her co-director Charles Oppenheim was professor of library and information science at Strathclyde University. Both will be based at De Montfort's Milton Keynes campus. The institute will have eight to ten full-time staff with associated researchers.

Peter Robinson, ano바카라사이트r recruit from Oxford, is working with 바카라사이트 Cambridge University Press on 바카라사이트 presentation of complex critical editions which may collate up to 100 versions of a single document. The Cambridge CD-Rom of Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Prologue published next month contains two million hypertext links.

The institute will continue work on existing projects in partnership with o바카라사이트r universities. Funding sources include 바카라사이트 Electronic Libraries programme, 바카라사이트 European Union, 바카라사이트 British Library, and IBM.