The Thailand Digital Library Project: An Overview

ChangeFusion Institute

Introduction

ChangeFusion Institute as a managerial unit for Thai Health Promotion Foundation's ICT Plan for Online Health and Partner Support, is pioneering a project aimed to enhance the quality and availability of useful digital content.

Targeted at information sources deemed useful to and demanded by many groups of Internet users, the project engages with the sources to support the digitisation process, the standardisation of content data, and the organisation and distribution of digital content. The foremost goal is to develop a content network, within it having those quality digital content available and ready for access through multiple channels including the source websites and the portal site servicing digital content from many sources. Among wide-scope of digital content genres we focus on the content with cultural, educational, and physical/mental/social health promotional values such as cultural heritage, collections of essays from notable persons past and present, educational materials, research and theses, health information and statistics.

The Connectivity Model of the Digital Library Network

Parallel to the support of content distribution, we also support the development of human capacity especially among the group of librarians who are increasingly interested in the prospect of digital content service. This is planned and organised in the form of periodic seminars and discussions that results in new possibilities of two-tier and multi-tier cooperation, the sharing of digital library-related knowledge and best practices.

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Working Plan

This long-term project is planned to ultimately lead to an establishment of an independent organisation responsible for the support of digital content production and distribution, in the spirit of the Public Service Broadcasting model which stands to correct the failure of the market mechanism of media production, distribution, and consumption.

Along the roadmap we separate the work into 3 phrases:

1. The prototype phrase aims to display to the potential partners a flavour and the potential of the digital library content network. This phrase will conclude at the end of 2009 by which the prototype system will be ready, together with at least 20,000 pieces of digital content from at least 8 digital library sources.

2. The public service phrase provides a public with a portal to useful digital content catering for various needs including generic, educational, cultural, and health content. The duration is two year, starting at the beginning of 2010. By the end of 2011 the service should reach a momentum of having serviced a substantial amount of useful digital content and be ready for the final phrase. At least 200,000 pieces of digital content is aimed.

3. The establishment phrase dedicates another full year towards an establishment of an independent organisation to take care of the operation of the project. The roles of the organisation include:

• the development of future content network

• an empowerment and a support for partners

• the internal and external management

• a continuing service of digital content for the public

• a marketing and public relations schemes

• the policy advocacy work

• a plan for financial sustainability

Progress

Along the roadmap we are currently proliferating a partnership with important sources of content in order to form a working prototype of the digital library network. The approached partners and respective progresses include:

1. Generic content network

• The National Library agreed to have their already digitised content being connected to the digital library content network.

• The project also has an agreement with the National Archive such that we will help the National Archive proceed with the digitisation of its document catalogue which is currently paper-based and some of their illustrations and photos.

• Both of which agreements are being finalised in a form of MOUs which are pending for final approval from the Department of Fine Arts under the Ministry of Culture.

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2. Cultural content network

• The project signed an MOU with the Southern Studies Institute who agreed to allow the 18-volume Southern Culture Encyclopedia to be available online through the digital library content network. The copyright of the work belongs to the Thai Cultural Encyclopedia Foundation of the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) which we did approached for the distribution right and are awaiting their final decision. The encyclopedia is a part of multi-volume cultural encyclopedia project which comprehensively include the local cultural heritage belongs to every part of Thailand. None of which is available in digital form today and making them so available is our future plan. The Southern Studies Institute also need help in term of digitisation which we will engage with.

• Over the past 2 years, the project also developed our own prototype of a digital collection sources known as OpenBase (openbase.in.th). This is a group of digital libraries aimed to preserve the individual and cultural heritage through document digitisation and information organisation. Its associated libraries include the digital collection of the work of 4 notable persons in Thai modern history (puay.org, rapee.org, pridi-phoonsuk.org, kulap.org), and a collection of local culture and wisdom (culturelib.in.th). These sources will be integrated into the digital library network and be ready for public access on the conclusion of the prototype phrase this year-end.

3. Health-related content network

• We are building up a content network of health-related organisation including the National Health Commission Office, the Department of Medicine of the Ministry of Public Health, the Health Systems Research Institute, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and the Folk Doctor Foundation.

• The Health Systems Research Institute currently have a standard digital collection (kb.hsri.or.th) which includes almost 10,000 titles of health-related research papers and articles from various sources. With their open policy they agreed to connect the data sources with the digital library network. This will be available within the prototype phrase.

• The Thai Health Promotion Foundation's Info Center (info.thaihealth.or.th) contains thousands of health-related public information materials such as booklets, leaflets, presentations and reports. These content will be available through the digital library network within the prototype phrase.

• For decades The Folk Doctor Foundation has pioneered a publication aimed to promote self-healthcare information and practices. They have a digital collection of all past articles (doctor.or.th). All of which will be available through the digital library content network within the prototype phrase.

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The Prototype Digital Library Network

The prototype content network system is being made available within this year. This will be in a form of a digital library portal (dlib.in.th) that responds to user's inquiries by collecting the related content within the network and display to the user in standard yet friendly library form, with interactive and media enriched possibilities. This library portal will not only serve the need of Internet users, but also serve to magnetise further partnership with other content producers and providers, leading to the larger digital content network that satisfies more inclusive demand spectrum.

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Issues and Challenges

1. Project definition and scope

Digital content infinitely vary in topics and purposes. Some type of content can be serviced for educational and learning purpose. Some are used as a preservation of important materials documenting cultural heritage. Some can be used as a reference by general public.

While the project aim to cater for most of the needs, it is more feasible to initially focus on specific kind of content for specific purpose. In our view, early focus should result from a balance combination between:

1. The need of the public. Among many issues in the society, we identified the need to make use of health information to fight prevailing health issues as one of the important public issue that we should cater for. Thus we included information on health such as research and articles in the prototype content pool.

2. Thematic urgency. We identified as the need to make a digital preservation of important documents and vanishing local cultural heritage. Thus we included the content from many libraries of notable persons, a library of local cultural heritage, and approached the single most important source of historic document – the National Archive.

3. The readiness of partners. We are already in a connection with several digital sources whose readiness in policies and the content can help to smooth the launch of the project without undue delay. The content of these partners are therefore included in the prototype system.

Once the prototype is released, we plan in make more connection with other content sources to account for other needs. The list includes the educational content such as textbooks in both K-12 and university level, important public documents such as laws and the results of parliament meetings, the music with cultural and historic values, among others.

As such any suggestion on the scope and definition of the project is welcome.

2. Prioritisation between digitisation and standards setting

Recent technological advance in optical devices and OCR is not the only reason why the digitisation is currently a primary task for many of the digital sources around the world. Even long after the required technology has been put into use, there are still continuing efforts to re-digitise the media just because the early digitised files are not up to standards. Lack of agreed-upon standards mean digital files from each sources are often vary in file naming system, resolution and quality, ability to connect with other data sources, and ability to get access in the future.

While a promotion of digital standards is essential to an establishment of sustainable content network ecosystem, there is still a clear need to backwardly work on the digitisation of analogue data and the correction of digital collections where standards are missing or incomplete. Considering limited resources, this situation therefore poses a dilemma of priritisation between the “forward-looking” task of standards setting, and the “backward-looking” task of digitisation and standards correction for those who already digitised. There are strong argument for both, and the issue at hand is for the project to evaluate and decide on the weight given to each approach.

3. Financial sustainability

Projects aim to service the public needs do not necessarily have commercial potential. While the

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formal support of the government can be pursued as in case the Public Service Broadcasting, it is difficult to materialise and sustain through political uncertainty. Other options remain. They can be in form of a social enterprise whose operation, in part, can generate income flow that covers the cost. A social enterprise may seek an investment from local and foreign funders who take the social benefit of the project's output as a measurement and evaluative means for investment. While this is a new phenomenon, we strive to explore the business plan which can sustain our operation without sacrifice of primary purpose. For example the business plan must not lead the project to support a distribution of commercial content which do not have a clear social value.

As such we welcome assistance, whether in form of grant, investment, or consultation.

Information and Contact

For more information regarding the National Digital Library Project please contact:

Website: http://dlib.in.th

http://changefusion.org

Email: info@dlib.in.th

chitpong@dlib.in.th (Project Manager)

info@changefusion.org

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