Related Experiment Videos
The Virtual Hospital: experiences in creating and sustaining a digital library
M P D'Alessandro1, J R Galvin, W E Erkonen
1University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Radiology, Iowa City 52242, USA. michael-dalessandro@uiowa.edu
Bulletin of the Medical Library Association
|November 6, 1998
Summary
Universities can now bypass commercial publishers using digital library technology. This empowers faculty to retain content control and directly serve their communities, creating a new academic publishing model.
Area of Science:
- Digital Libraries
- Academic Publishing
- Information Science
Background:
- Universities and faculty generate valuable content often exploited by commercial publishers.
- Emerging digital library technology offers a path for universities to regain control over their intellectual property.
- Commercial publishing models limit universities' ability to directly serve their constituents with scholarly content.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a methodology for establishing a university-controlled digital library and press.
- To overcome technical, social, political, and economic barriers in digital content dissemination.
- To create a sustainable model for academic publishing that benefits both institutions and faculty.
Main Methods:
- Development, implementation, and refinement of a methodology over seven years.
- Populating the Virtual Hospital digital library with 120 textbooks and booklets.
- Involving 159 authors across 29 departments and four colleges at The University of Iowa.
Main Results:
- Successful creation and operation of a digital library and press.
- Extensive global usage of the Virtual Hospital digital library.
- Establishment of a new paradigm for university- and faculty-owned academic publishing.
Conclusions:
- Digital library technology enables universities to bypass traditional publishers and retain content control.
- A university-owned digital press, supported by digital library infrastructure, can better fulfill institutional missions.
- The University of Iowa has embraced this model, pledging support for its digital press.