Interoperability for Digital Libraries : Problems and Directions

Interoperability is a central concern whenever digital libraries are constructed as collections of independently developed components that rely on each other to accomplish a larger task. The ultimate goal for such a system is to have components evolve independently, yet to allow all components to call on each other efficiently and conveniently. For digital libraries to scale to an international level, they need to be constructed from such interoperable pieces. This is the case not only for technical reasons, but also because information repositories and information processing services for digital libraries often need to be operated by independent organizations.