The Scottish Distributed Digital Library

Gordon Dunsire tells WIDWISAWN about the recently launched Scottish Distributed Digital Library (SDDL) pilot service and notes how the various components of the Scottish Common Information Environment underpin the architecture of such a service

The Scottish Distributed Digital Library (SDDL) is a new pilot service using elements of the Scottish Common Information Environment. The service was launched without publicity at the beginning of 2006.

There is no specific definition of a digital library; the term has been used for services in which all metadata and resources are digital, or where the metadata is digital but the resources are a mix of digital and non-digital. The word "library" is also ambiguous, as many digital libraries contain resources from archives and museums.

SDDL currently adopts a "hard" definition. It contains only digital resources and digital metadata. Furthermore, the resources are openly accessible; no subscriptions or passwords are required to link to them.

Screenshot: The homepage of the Scottish Distributed Digital Library.

SDDL incorporates collections of digital materials made available by archives, libraries and museums, and private groups and individuals. The service provides links to the collections and any associated finding-aids.

Screenshot: Some of the 120+ collections in the SDDL.

The SDDL "Books" section provides a link to electronic texts catalogued in Scotland's Culture, the Scottish cultural portal pilot. These texts range from simple text transcriptions, such as Project Gutenberg resources, to complete digital facsimiles; all texts are written by Scottish authors or are on Scottish subjects.

Screenshot: Some of the 220 electronic texts recorded in Scotland's Culture, accessed from the SDDL. The texts can be downloaded using the hyperlinks.

The SDDL "Metasearch" section links to a CAIRNS "miniclump" of catalogues of Scottish digital resources. The selected catalogues can be searched in one go.

Screenshot: The CAIRNS miniclump for the SDDL.

SDDL also provides a subject index to its collections.

Screenshot: Part of the SDDL subject index. The subject terms are taken from the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH).

All components of the SDDL are derived from existing information held in Scottish Common Information Environment services.

The service is very much in a pilot stage, and all comments and suggestions are welcome. Any organisation or individual who wishes to add a digital collection or electronic text to the Scottish Distributed Digital Library, or comment on the service, should contact me at g.dunsire@strath.ac.uk