Digital Libraries at University of Buffalo

karpeles DL screenshot

Exciting news in digital libraries! LIS graduate students at the University at Buffalo have rolled out another “real world” project! With Dr. June Abbas as project manager, students from the Spring 2007 Digital Libraries class formed 6 teams to create the Karpeles Digital Manuscript Library. This digital library – researched, designed, and implemented in just one semester – uses Greenstone digital library software to organize and display: “digital images and information on some of the many collections housed within the nine Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums located throughout the United States.” [1] The digital library pulls from the eclectic Disney, Maps, Music, and Women in History collections curated by the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums.

You can read more about this innovative project, and get a sense of how the course is approached, at “Building the Digital Library.”

To explore the library, visit the home page and click on “collections.” Choose a collection in the left
menu bar to open up the search page. Preferences and help pages are linked from the upper right of the search frame, and browsing options are at the top of the frame. “Magellan’s Circumnavigation around the World” (in the Maps collection, use quotes when searching) is a fascinating historical journey and there are many more to be had! You can also explore by browsing “titles.” Of note is the generous copyright statement developed in close collaboration with museum staff.

The Karpeles Digital Manuscript Library is the sixth digital library created by students at UB in conjunction with members of the Western New York community, and as Dr. Abbas stated so passionately at the unveiling, “they just keep getting better.”

This post was submitted by jennimi, who is Jennifer E. Graham, a blogger, Firebrary team member (2006), and librarian at the University at Buffalo. She’d like to thank Michael for providing a space to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues, and send him positive vibes as he writes his dissertation. She’d also like to thank Dr. June Abbas and the students of LIS 563 for their contribution to open access.