Stephen Davison
Head of Digital Library Development
California Institute of Technology
Tom Morrell
Research Data Specialist
California Institute of Technology
Tommy Keswick
Digital Technologies Development Librarian
California Institute of Technology
Digital collections and services in libraries are typically managed using a variety of open source and proprietary systems, with off-the-shelf or locally built tools to facilitate their use. We present here an approach that deemphasizes the role of standalone systems in favor of tightly focused tools, system-independent metadata, and a recognition that content and metadata evolve over time. An example of this approach is The Atlas of Bacterial & Archaeal Cell Structure, an open access digital textbook that offers a tour of microbial cells guided by cutting-edge 3D electron microscopy. The textbook is rendered as a static web site, using only JavaScript and CSS to power the dynamic elements of the pages. Video, metadata, and source files are hosted by the California Institute of Technology’s data repository, making the site sustainable with existing library resources. The entire textbook can also be downloaded and viewed offline, in both web and PDF versions. The text, image and video content, and the design can also be easily updated as research and instructional needs change over time. This lightweight approach dramatically reduces development and maintenance costs compared with existing publishing platforms. This approach is being implemented in the online publication of Caltech Oral History interviews, as well as a reimagined general-purpose digital library platform. These projects illustrate system development principles that promote a more sustainable and flexible approach:
- Data is primary, software is ephemeral
- Data is owned by creators/managers, not the software (or developers)
- Software tools should be focused, simple, and reusable
- Reality includes continual content changes (version control) and metadata migration