PBS's Lucy Bernholz on the Digital Public Library of America

PBS commentator and philanthropy blogger Lucy Bernholz writes a largely positive column at PBS, although she also notes the current limitations of the DPLA. Some of her main points bear noting here:

•  Ownership and Intellectual property: "Instead of a stand-alone collection, it is the set of common software codes and processes that connect existing collections and adapts for future ones." (Her discussion of "ownership" which I omit, is worth seeing.)
• Permanence: "We can’t predict where technology will take us, so the DPLA has built itself to adapt from within while also aligning with those who can push it along." 
• Access: "The DPLA has tried from the beginning to be inclusive and welcoming in designing its software, its governance structures, and its future scope of work — open meeting policies, bylaws, and draft articles of incorporation are all on the site. I’m not an expert in the design of digital materials for the visually impaired, but the FAQ offers detailed information on how the site is set up to reach these users." (I had missed the DPLA's commitment to visually impaired users, but I say Bravo! It's about time that our cultural institutions encouraged software developers to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It's also hard to disagree with her conclusion: "The DPLA is an experiment worth watching as it navigates these new waters and celebrating as it unfolds. When the time comes for the actual party, I’ll be there." But read the original. She's a good writer.

The DPLA is an experiment worth watching as it navigates these new waters and celebrating as it unfolds. When the time comes for the actual party, I’ll be there. - See more at: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/05/digital-public-library-dpla-raises-questions-ownership-permanence-access#sthash.gFtLLbNU.dpuf

Digital Public Library of America: Some announcements and reviews (updated)

Probably the best third-party article on the Digital Public Library of America appeared in Arts Technica, with the not-so-good title of "The Digital Public Library of America: adding Gravitas to your Internet Search."

In the coming years, the DPLA has a few evident goals: getting contemporary works into the database, working with state and regional libraries across the nation to bring their archives under the umbrella of the DPLA, and making sure all of the amassed metadata is clear and concise so that others can use it. The organization currently offers access to items like daguerreotypes, portraits, older scientific articles, pamphlets, and old books. These items have been donated by other institutions and are hosted on those sites. Currently, when you search at the DPLA website, you’re taken to, say, the archive hosted by the Biodiversity Heritage Library or the Uintah County Library in Utah. That second archive might represent the more interesting goal of the DPLA: to get small town libraries and archives online and linked up to the DPLA API. Of the 42 state and regional libraries that have digitized all or part of their archives, Cohen says seven are currently searchable through the DPLA site. “I’m going to be trying to get the next 35 to work with us,” [Dan] Cohen told Ars.

DPLA Launch event canceled but DPLA to go live on Thursday April 18

The Digital Public Library of America's launch event, to have taken place at the Boston Public Library where a bomb exploded on Monday during the Boston Marathon, has been canceled. The DPLA will still go live on Thursday April 18. Article here. The DPLA will have a larger event in the fall which will evolve into their DPLAfest. The Library's Executive Director, Dan Cohen, is quoted "I see the building of a new library as one of the greatest examples of what humans can do together to extend the light against the darkness. In due time, we will let that light shine through." (h/t Inside Higher Education. Their source here.)