Transcript No Slide Title

US- Korea Joint Workshop on Digital Libraries
UCSD, August 10-11, 2000
CMNet (Chinese Memory Net): US-Sino Collaborative Research
Toward A Global Digital Library in Chinese Studies
US NSF’s International Digital Library Program Project
Principal Investigator:
Ching-chih Chen
Simmons College, Boston, USA
chen@simmons.edu
PROJECT EMPEROR-I: The First Emperor of China (1983)
The First NEH’s Major Technology Project
• A perfect example
on the use of
multimedia
technology
• Technology is
insensitive of Time
and Geography
• Technology can
bring the east and
west together
• The beginning of a
“virtual library”
Voyager’s Interactive Videodisc & Multimedia CD
• 15 years ago it was incredible
that we could have 108,000
pictures on the videodisc and
the interactive videodisc can
provide the information seekers
incredible array of needed
multimedia information,
• It demonstrated that the MM
technology can change the way
we seek, demand, and use
information.
• Generated heavy media
coverage in public media and
broadcast of over 15 countries.
CONTENT IS THE KEY!
• My digital MM product of The First
Emperor of China (6-hours of
interactive materials) was chosen as
one of the 50 Best CDs by MacUser
• Sun MicroSystems chose Emperor was
one of the three projects to be included
in its World-wide Higher Education
brochure
• IBM said in its Multimedia Solution
(March/April 1991) “IBM’s Multimedia
prototype – PROJECT EMPEROR-I –
puts multimedia technology to the
ultimate test.”
Moving Toward A Digital Knowledge Base
IBM Multimedia Today (1993)
Planning GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
• My R&D work with the Emperor Project
made me realized how IT will change
dramatically our future communications and
information provision/use. Thus, since 1993
I have advocated among global library and
information communities the need for
planning GII.
• The digital “knowledge base” of The First
Emperor of China is a prototype “digital
library”
• I also started advocating the concept of
“global digital library” as shown in the
simple scheme in the following slide.
The Global Digital Library - Conceptual Diagram
(Presented at the
International Conference on National Libraries - Towards the 21st Century, Taipei,
April 1993 in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the National Central Library)
DIGITAL LIBRARIES - PROBLEMS & ISSUES
 Definition
 Roles of Digital Libraries
 Technology -- infrastructure, quality of service interoperability, scalability,
sustainability, etc.
 Input method and standard - scanning, digitization, OCR…
 Data representation
 Organization - metadata, indexing
 Access - indexing and retrieval
 Navigation and search
 Content building, Collection Management and organization, preservation
 User interfaces and human-computer interaction
 Multi-lingual problems and issues
 Economic, social (information rich and poor, etc...), and legal issues (copyright,
privacy, security, etc…)
 Collaboration -- regional, national and global
Today’s digital libraries are still poor shadows of the analog libraries in nearly
every intellectual respect
DL-1 (NSF)- $24M total over four years, ending fall 1998.
• Carnegie Mellon University
• Stanford University
• University of California at Berkeley
• University of California at Santa Barbara
• University of Illinois
• University of Michigan
Digital Libraries Initiative - Phase 2
 Sponsoring Agencies and Programs
 National Science Foundation (NSF) - Digital Libraries Initiative
 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA
 - Information Technology Office
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National Library of Medicine (NLM) - Extramural Programs
Library of Congress (LOC) - Digital Library Initiatives
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) - Digital Library Initiative
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
 In Partnership withNational Archives and Records Administration
(NARA)
 Smithsonian Institution (SI)
 Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Changing Scales and Contexts of
Interaction and Collaboration
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NSFNet StarTap Connections
Ching-chih Chen - August 1999
(Courtesy of S. Griffin, NSF)
NSF’s IDLP (International Digital Library Program)
Introduced in 1999, the new IDLP program (NSF
99-6) is intended to contribute to the fundamental
knowledge required to create information systems
that can operate in multiple languages, formats,
media, and social and organizational contexts.
International Digital Libraries Program (IDLP)
 Goals
 To enable users to easily access digital collections, regardless of
location, language or formats
 To enable broad use in research, education, commerce and
other purposes
 Research will be on:
 Interoperable technologies
 Technology for intellectual property protection
 Methods and standards for ensuring long-term interoperability
among distributed and separately administered databases,
world data-mining etc…
 Cooperative research can help avoid duplication of effort, prevent
the development of fragmented digital systems, and encourage
productive interchange of knowledge and data around the world.
With long-time strong interest in global digital library, I find an
opportunity for me in IDLP
 In my case, my NIT conferences enable
me to know the world development in
digital libraries (see Chen, Ching-chih.
IT and Global Digital Library
Development. Newton, MA: MicroUse
Information.)
 I capitalize my global connections and
my experience in the Emperor Project.
 I partner with I2 institutions, and I
capitalize the expertise from our
international partners.
Ching-chih Chen ‘s International Consulting and Speaking
CMNet - Why?
 Digital library developments are not new, but few international collaborative
research efforts.
 CMNet will explore the use of Chinese materials for education and research.
Presently scholars and students in these fields have opted more for traditional
means of information access.
 Chinese Digital library/museum activities are underway in different places, but few
can be considered for broad-based international access and sharing.
 In the multilingual area, most R&D are related to roman alphabet languages. Few
deal with non-Roman languages, such as Chinese.
 In the area of network use, the current complex network environment is a reality.
CMNet will explore the use of all types of networks for global access to distributed
information in China, Taiwan and US
 The proposed research areas are significant to American scholars in the Chinese
studies, but American researchers often do not have as much expertise in those
areas.
CMNet’s Research Plan - Initial Collaborators
Expected Synergy
US
Taiwan
Simmons
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– non-Internet2
Academia Sinica
National Taiwan University
National Tsinghua
Several Internet2
institutions (still
being worked on…)
University
China
Jiaotung University
Peking University
Tsinghua University
CMNet - Research Areas to be Explored
 Multilingual information systems, and cross-language retrieval systems;
 Multi-national digital libraries including sound, data, image, multimedia,
software…;
 Interoperability and scalability technology to permit large world-wide collections;
 Metadata techniques and tools;
 Invaluable contents -- linking Chinese historical, cultural and heritage information
systems of the best institutions in the US, Taiwan and China;
 Preservation and archiving of digital scholarly information, including technology
and procedures for long-term information asset management;
 Social aspects of digital libraries and cross-cultural context studies;
 Instructional use of digital libraries at all levels of instruction;
 Economic and copyright issues: authentication, rights, and fair use; and
 Electronic publishing and scholarly communication technology, including
collaboratories, online repositories, and new methods of organizing scientific
knowledge distribution.
Ching-chih Chen - Feb. 22, 2000
Modified on Mar. 28, 2000
CMNet (Chinese Memory Net): US-Sino Collaborative
Research Toward A Global Digital Library in Chinese Studies
Net has multiples meanings:
In the net-worked environment
Use this and Next Generation Internet
Connect distributed digital libraries in different parts
of the world
Creating a synergetic informal network of
researchers on similar research interest
etc
Ching-chih Chen - Feb. 22, 2000
Modified on Mar. 28, 2000
Research Plan
Network environment in China (CERNET in specific) has progressed dramatically
since this proposal writing in Dec. 1998. The above is a much out-dated picture
Ching-chih Chen - Feb. 22, 2000
Modified on Mar. 28, 2000
CMNet’s R&D Agenda from China, Coordinated by Prof. Li-zhu
Zhou, Chair, Dept. of Computer Science and & Technology, Tsinghua University
Current R&D agenda include (subject to modifications):
 Digitizing techniques for Chinese inform. – Include pattern analysis &
recognition for ancient books; video/audio structurizing process; interactive
3D display techniques; etc…
 Metadata techniques and standards for Chinese information
 Intelligent HCI techniques – Include multi-lingual, multi-modal search &
retrieval; translation engine; etc.
 Digital library architecture – Include interoperability & scalability study on
Internet environment; management framework & organization schema for
distributed, heterogeneous, and mass information repositories; etc.
 Theory and method on global Chinese inform. Organization, integration, and
sharing
 Prototyping systems for Chinese cultural and heritage information
CMNet’s R&D Agenda from Taiwan, Coordinated by Prof. Jieh
Hsiang, Professor, Department of Computer Science, National Taiwan University
Tentative
 Linguistic Technology and Resources for English-Chinese Bilingual
Information System
 Lexicon-based Knowledge Linking -- Approaches Towards a WordNet
 Metadata Interchange for Chinese Information for Digital Libraries
Infrastructure for Multilingual Digital Library
 Agent-based Information Gathering and Service for Digital Library
Intellectual Property Rights Protection -- Safeguarding Digital
Library Contents and Managing Electronic Copyright
 Intellectual Property Rights Protection -- Safeguarding Digital
Library Contents and Managing Electronic Copyright
NIT 2001:
The 12th International Conference on New Information
Technology (http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit)
Global Digital Library Development in the New Millennium
Fertile Ground for Distributed Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
29-31 May 2001, Beijing, China
In Celebration of the 90th Anniversary of Tsinghua University
Chief Conference Organizer: Dr. Ching-chih Chen
Local Conference Chair:
Prof. Hu Dong-cheng
Vice President, Tsinghua University
NIT 2001:
The 12th International Conference on New Information Technology
Sample Topics to be Covered:
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National information infrastructure and policies
Use of this and Next Generation Internets
Digital libraries and systems: Changing roles, collaboration, and exploration
Collaborative research activities
Interoperability and scalability technology issues
Multiformat, multilingual problems and issues
Intelligent agents
Metadata techniques and tools
Preservation and archiving of digital information
Social, economic, and legal issues of digital libraries
Education and training in information technology
Digital libraries and consortium development
Distance learning and the use of distributed digital libraries
Distributed digital library development in the world
Intellectual property and right protection
Etc.
CMNet: A Model for Int’l Digital Library Collaboration
 CMNet can be successful only if all collaborators take this project
seriously
 It needs synergetic infusion of ideas and R&D
 It needs high-level governmental support in the most enthusiastic
way.
 More collaboration with other countries and other institutions
of similar R&D agenda is needed and solicited
 Global digital library Development in the new millennium is indeed
Fertile Ground for Distributed Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration. Let’s
capitalize the opportunity!
For more information:
Chen@Simmons.edu