Ball State University Libraries' Digital Commons Provide One-Stop Access for Research, Learning, Teaching

Students, faculty, and others using the University Libraries Web page, www.bsu.edu/library, can now find a vast array of digital resources for research, learning, and classroom use with just one click on the Digital Commons graphic.

The Digital Commons, which premiered on January 31, 2007, provides “one-stop” access to digital photographs, videos, audio, documents, books, scholarly journals and articles, geospatial resources, databases, and more. These resources were described in detail in Ball State University Libraries’ The Library Insider, page 2 of the January, 2007 issue www.bsu.edu/libraries/virtualpress/libinsider/libinsiderv5i1.pdf

Work has already begun on developing Phase II of the Digital Commons that will leverage powerful search technology and Web interface design to simplify searching, improve access, and personalize results for learning and research. Dean of University Libraries, Arthur W. Hafner, has formed the Digital Commons Phase II Working Group. Members are Andy West (Library Information Technology Services), Matthew C. Shaw (Electronic Resources Librarian), Stacy B. Chaney-Blankenship (Information Services Librarian), and Bradley D. Faust (Assistant Dean for Library Information Technology Services). Brad Faust will serve as chairperson.

The Phase II Working Group will strive to accomplish the following tasks:

· Develop a framework for a single back-end database for the Web resources, articles and databases, and e-journals
· Add Web links and metadata for digital assets in the virtual reference resources, images, digital video, electronic theses and dissertations, GIS resources, and Ball State Virtual Web pages
· Construct a simplified, functional search interface that aggregates results from the various Digital Commons elements in a single result
· Develop an interface to build dynamic subject guides

Everyone is invited to take advantage of the new Digital Commons for their learning, teaching and research needs. Watch for the enhanced version in the near future.