The Hybrid Library

A new book from UDSA Press

About the Book

While this book contains little heretofore unpublished information, its authors' goal is to present, in a single condensed volume, a cohesive set of facts and information regarding digitization in general, as well as the current state of the art of digitization products and technologies, and to connect the dots between these technologies and the special needs of libraries, especially academic and research libraries. Other goals of this book are to dispel a few resilient myths and to eliminate several misunderstandings related to digitization and digital content that may exist between a library's IT professionals and its library science professionals.

The first of three sections of this book provides a brief history of libraries for non-librarians. It then delves into the forces of unprecedented magnitude that are driving the process of redefinition that libraries are undergoing. Finally, it presents several possible trajectories that libraries can follow to leverage technology in their favor and increase their value to patrons in the future.

The second section is a factual overview of the science and technology used to reformat print and analog materials into their digital corollaries. This section’s many illustrations are intended to quickly provide a basic understanding for neophytes, while clearing up some persistent misunderstandings in the area of digital archival.

The third section addresses the digitization applications that are commonly found in academic, research and other libraries. It provides ‘best practices’ information on how libraries are using digitization technologies. The two digitize-on-demand applications that are covered are interlibrary loan scanning and self-serve scanning kiosks for student and faculty. This section also provides a great deal of information on the most complex digitization application: digital asset creation.

All topics are presented in the context of ‘the complete hybrid library,’ which consists of three elements: 1) the library's print assets; 2) digital assets procured from sources outside the library or created directly from the library's print assets; and 3) facilities for digitization on demand of its print assets (e.g. scanning systems for ILL and self-serve scanning systems).

About the Author

Ted Webb is the founder and CEO of Image Access, Inc. and its library products division, Digital Library Systems Group (DLSG). After earning a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Florida, he took a temporary break from his education to pay some bills and joined a computer technology company.

Although a career in physics research seemed preordained, he quickly developed a passion for applying creativity to the rigorous design requirements of high technology products. One’s work is often in the hands of, and benefitting users just a few years after product conception, which helped to cement his career as a pragmatic technologist.

Seven years ago, he found his way back to academia when he created DLSG to provide leading edge digitization technology to academic and research libraries.