Distributed library: Difference between revisions

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[[File:New library.JPG|alt=An example of a private library where the user could lend books from to others.|thumb|350x350px|An example of a private library where the user could lend books from to others. ]]

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A '''distributed library''' is a collection of materials available for borrowing by members of a group, yet not maintained or owned by a single entity. The [[library]] catalog]] is maintained on a database that is made accessible to users through the [[Internet]]. An early example of thisThis style of library (ifis notstill the first ofin its type)infancy. isAdministrative thesoftware Distributedcontinues Libraryto Projectbe ofdeveloped theand [[San Francisco Bay Area]]distributed.

An early example of this style of library (if not the first of its type) is the Distributed Library Project of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref>[http://www.nongnu.org/dlp/ Distributed Library Project]</ref> While distributed libraries are being established in several cities worldwide, the San Francisco Bay Area library still only has a few hundred members.

A '''distributed library''' is a collection of materials available for borrowing by members of a group, yet not maintained or owned by a single entity. The [[library]] catalog is maintained on a database that is made accessible to users through the [[Internet]]. An early example of this style of library (if not the first of its type) is the Distributed Library Project of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].

Another example, which takes a slightly different approach, is the Unlibrary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unlibrary.com/index.pl?rm=tour1 |title=Unlibrary (archived version of website) |access-date=2011-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022122620/http://www.unlibrary.com/index.pl?rm=tour1 |archive-date=2011-10-22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In this system, users are free to create communities of any size and scope, rather than a single citywide community. For instance a church might have its own community, with church members all able to borrow from each other. Users can also have private, invite-only groups.

This style of library is still in its infancy. While libraries are being established in several cities worldwide, the San Francisco Bay Area library still only has a few hundred members. Administrative software continues to be developed and distributed.

Another example is the digibruted library of Geneva.<ref>[https://digilioge.wordpress.com/ Digilioge: The Digibruted Library of Geneva]</ref> The name digibruted is coined from “Digital” and “Distributed”. This library is a digital construction that indexes books for local distribution. The difference from Unlibrary is that the books are freely given to readers, who act also as librarians, in a kind of peer-to-peer schema.

==Early Concepts==

A precursor is the [[Tabard Inn Library]] established in 1902 where travelers could check out books at one station and return them at another, with each station operated by a different individual.<ref>{{Cite journal

|title=Tabard Inn Library Promotion for Patrons

|journal=The Minneapolis Journal

|author=William Donaldson & Company

|date=September 9, 1904

|page=5

|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabard_Inn_Library_ad.png

|access-date=2025-02-18

}}</ref> To patrons, the library appeared as a distributed library. The Book Lovers Library based in Philadelphia, PA rented the books to each exchange station.<ref>{{Cite journal

|title=Tabard Inn Library Promotion for Vendors

|journal=The American Magazine

|volume=42

|issue=6

|date=October 1906

|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabard_Inn_Library_ad_1906.png

|access-date=2025-02-18

}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[BookCrossing]]

==References==

== External links ==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Library science]]

* [http://www.communitybooks.org/ The SF Distributed Library Project]

[[Category:Libraries by type]]

* [http://dlpdev.theps.net/ListOfExistingDlpNodes?v=fep A List of Distributed Libraries]

[[Category:Types of library]]