Numeric library

A numeric library (or in electronic line or ) is a whole of digitized and remote access writings (in particular via Internet). Rather than of supports, it is in this case preferable to speak about formats, compression, Encodage (for the video and the sound) as well as type of Numérisation (text mode or image mode). This novel mode of diffusion and conservation has many advantages in terms of duration and quality of conservation, of communication… But one can also worry about the risks of loss of an original paper medium.

It is necessary to distinguish the libraries which put on line digitized images of the pages of the original books (Gallica is an example) and those which put on line the text itself (like the Projet Gutenberg). To put on line the book at the format text requires additional work, but makes it possible to reduce the volume of the file and authorizes research, the reformatings, the corrections, etc the two approaches can be complementary insofar as an organization which puts on line the books in mode “  image  ” can be used as source so that another organization creates a version “  texte  ”.

December 14th, 2004, the company Google found an agreement with four American libraries and a British to put on line their contents in form readable and usable. The National library of France caused in answer the project of European Numeric library.

Certain software makes it possible to constitute a numeric library starting from heterogeneous documents of format S, such Greenstone.

See too the purpose of

• the list of Distributed Proofreaders of the sites placing at the disposal of the books to the format image ()
• the Projet Gutenberg is to put in free remote loading, in the form of e-books, of the works fallen into the public domain.
• the European Numeric library is being born.
• UNESCO lance also a world Numeric library.
• European NAvigator the first numeric library on the history of European construction
• Wikisource
• Internet Files
• the Projet Runeberg is a numeric library concerning the works and authors Scandinavian.
• In a Multi-media approach , one can regard the galleries sets of themes of the Hall of the song as numerical collections with whole share.
• Lastly, Internet can be regarded as the largest world and multilingual electronic library, in particular with regard to the networks Station-with-station which make it possible, although it is most of the time illegal, to divide and distribute free digitized documents of any nature (text, image, its, video).