A note on definitions

Digital libraries are “organizations that provide the resources, including specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use by a defined community or set of communities” (DLF Working Definition)



• The definition of digital libraries is often extended by focusing on one or more of the defining features and ignoring or downplaying others
• The Task Force distinguished digital libraries from digital archives to draw attention to the preservation function

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