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) is the [http://www.nongnuinfancy.org/dlp/DistributedAdministrative Librarysoftware Project] ofcontinues theto [[Sanbe Franciscodeveloped Bayand Area]]distributed.
ThisAn early example of this style of library is(if stillnot inthe first of its infancytype) is the [http://www.nongnu.org/dlp/ Distributed Library Project] of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]. While distributed 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, which takes a slightly different approach, is the "Unlibrary.com". In this system, users are free to create communities of any size and scope, rather than a single city-wide 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.
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”. It does not mean that the library is brutalized by digital attacks, but rather that theThis library is a digital construction,indexingthat realindexes assets (books in this case) distributed in thefor reallocal worlddistribution. 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.
