Towards Lightweight Digital Library Integration

The Digital Library Integration Infrastructure (DLII) provides a systematic lightweight approach for integrating digital library collections and services. Digital library systems generally require minimal or no changes to their code. Users see a totally integrated environment. They use their digital library system just as before. They also see extra link anchors. Selecting one generates a list of links to relevant metainformation (structural, content-based and knowledgesharing relationships, and metadata). DLII generates the vast majority of supplemental link anchors and metainformation links automatically through the use of relationship rules. This paper presents the concept of metainformation, describes the DLII infrastructure and architecture, and explains how systems can integrate into the infrastructure. This research’s primary contribution is providing a relatively straightforward, sustainable infrastructure for integrating digital library collections and services.