DELOS - Deliverable D1.4.2 - Reference Model for Digital Library Management Systems

This deliverable presents the result of an activity performed by Task 1.4 "A Reference Model for Digital Library Systems" from the project Month 13th to 30th. It is the first release of a report dedicated to introduce a Reference Model for systems operating in the Digital Library (DL) universe. It is organised in three parts that contain, respectively: 1. The Digital Library Manifesto (Sections 1 to 5) - This part identifies the principle notions behind the DL field and lays the foundation for more specific representations. In particular, it clarifies the role of the main systems operating in the digital library universe, i.e. DLs, DL Systems and DL Management Systems, by describing how they are related and by introducing their main concepts. 2. The Digital Library Reference Model (Sections 6 to 9) - It introduces a comprehensive representation of the three types of systems the DL universe concerns with. The model is organised in six main areas that correspond to the main concepts that are common to these systems: "information object", "functionality", "user", "policy" and "quality". The aim of this model is to facilitate the integration of research and to propose better ways of developing appropriate systems. 3. A Digital Library Reference Architecture for component-based DL Systems (Section 10) - It presents an architectural component-based design pattern indicating an abstract solution for implementing the concepts and relationships identified in the DL Reference Model. The specified reference architecture is particularly suitable for systems supporting federated digital libraries, i.e. DLs that exploit a federated organisational model in order to share the cost of DL creation and maintenance. The report concludes presenting final remarks and plans for the future (Section 11).