LibraryLinks Fall 2006
Libraries Form New Department for Digital Initiatives
By John M. Meador, Jr.
In July 2006 the Libraries formed a Department of Digital Library Initiatives. The DLI will serve as a digitization lab, to digitize portions of the Libraries’ unique collections for web accessibility, as well as a think-tank and incubator for digital library strategies and policies. Abigail Bordeaux, Coordinator of Digital Library Initiatives, leads the department, working with Digitization Specialist Aynur DeRouen and many other staff members throughout the Libraries.
One of DLI’s first projects, currently in process, is the digitization of photographs and promotional materials from the Link Collections, which document the life and work of Edwin A. Link, founder of Link Aviation, Inc.
As an incubator for new technological ventures in the Libraries, DLI will consider such questions as how to incorporate “Amazoogle” features to enhance the search and retrieval of digital information resources. As a formulator of the Libraries’ digital policy, the DLI will examine issues related to the long-term preservation of digital objects, including the increasing array of “born digital” University archives.
After Ed Link sold Link Aviation, Inc., in the mid-1950s, he turned his attention to underwater exploration. The Perry Link Deep Diver, pictured above in a photo from the Link-Roberson Collection, was the first submersible to allow divers to exit and work on the ocean floor.
Last June, Marilyn Link donated a number of Link family photographs to our
world-renowned Link Collections. Beth Kilmarx, John Meador, and Marilyn Link
examine a few of these photos in the Marilyn C. Link Conference Room of Bartle
Library's Special Collections Department.