Albert Einstein once said, “The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” So, where can you find one? In Einstein’s days, the answer would have been any physical place full of books, but times have changed. Today, with the rise of ebooks, we’ve started building digital libraries, not with concrete, but with ones and zeroes.
So, what is a digital library, then? Is it just a space to keep digital books, much like a traditional library that keeps physical ones? Or is there something more to this tech than meets the eye? We’ll be getting to those questions and more in this piece, so keep reading!
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What Is a Digital Library?
A digital library, also known as a virtual library or digital bookshelf, is a curated collection of digital content such as ebooks, audiobooks, documents, and other multimedia resources. These collections are stored virtually, whether locally or on the cloud. And unlike traditional libraries, these digital collections are available 24/7, as long as you have a compatible device to access them. They also often include useful features like search functions, reading progress tracking, or note-taking tools.
Digital libraries can serve different purposes and vary in complexity:
- A university digital library might include research papers, journals, and course materials accessible only to enrolled students and faculty.
- A public digital library could offer free access to classic literature, audiobooks, and educational videos to anyone with a library card.
- A school library app may let students borrow digital textbooks while limiting how many students can access the same book at the same time due to licensing restrictions.
What Are the Benefits of Using Digital Libraries?
Virtual libraries offer lots of benefits that are unique to them because of their digital nature. They’re not only easy to create and intuitive to use, but they can also store content that physical libraries can’t, such as interactive ebooks, audiobooks, and multimedia files.
Using digital libraries can also offer you the following advantages:
- Enhanced content protection with DRM security: Many digital bookshelves come with Digital Rights Management (DRM) features that let you control access to your ebooks and digital material. You can manage user permissions, set up subscriptions, and ensure your content is secure and protected from unauthorized use.
- Easy access and usability: They’re typically organized in a user-friendly way, with helpful features like search, filters, and categories. Some even include text-to-speech options, allowing users to listen to books instead of reading them, which can be useful for readers who’d rather listen to a book than read it.
- Support for rich and interactive content: Beyond ebooks, digital libraries can also host audiobooks, videos, audio files, images, and more. And with the right platform, you can even add interactive ebooks full of apps and widgets to your collection!
- Less expensive than a physical library: Building and running a physical library involves major expenses. For one, rent, utilities, and employee wages can drive up expenses. On the other hand, creating a virtual library can be much cheaper and easier! The main cost lies in the database used to store the books. Other than that, you might pay small upkeep or transaction fees, which come nowhere close to the costs of running a traditional library.
- Better preservation of content: Digital formats protect content from wear and aging, making it easier to preserve knowledge long-term. For example, Project Gutenberg has digitized over 75,000 books to keep them accessible for future generations.
What Are the Different Types of Digital Libraries?
Libraries can look quite different depending on who the target users are. For instance, a school’s digital library looks quite different from a corporate one. Similarly, personal libraries might have fewer features than, say, a large public one.
The size, features, and infrastructure of a digital library depend on its purpose. For instance, if you’re building a small, private collection, you won’t need a powerful system designed to support thousands of users or manage complex licensing rules.
With that in mind, let’s explore the five main types of digital libraries commonly used today.
1. Academic Libraries
Academic digital libraries are typically found in schools, universities, and other educational institutions, though they can be standalone. They usually contain a selection of research papers, dissertations.
Some of these libraries may also offer textbooks or fiction titles, though usually in smaller quantities, depending on demand and relevance.
A well-known example is JSTOR, a digital library that provides access to thousands of academic journals, books, and primary sources across a wide range of disciplines. It’s widely used by students, researchers, and educators around the world.
2. Public Libraries:
When you think of public libraries, you might think of globally famous ones such as the New York Public Library or the Library of Congress. But did you know that you don’t have to travel to visit some of these enormous libraries? In fact, you can easily access them from the device you’re using right now!
Public digital libraries are open to everyone and often provide free access to a wide range of materials, including ebooks, audiobooks, historical documents, videos, and more. They are often run by governments, institutions, or nonprofit organizations and aim to promote lifelong learning and equal access to information.
One of the largest and most accessible public digital libraries is the Internet Archive, which offers free access to millions of books, movies, music tracks, and even archived websites. Its companion project, the Open Library, aims to create a web page for every book ever published, with millions of titles available to borrow or read online.
Another example is Libby by OverDrive, a mobile app that connects users with their local library’s digital collection, allowing them to borrow ebooks and audiobooks with a library card.
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3. Corporate Libraries:
Many companies around the world, such as Skoda and HubSpot, have their own specialized libraries. They serve as a central hub of valuable information that helps employees carry out their jobs efficiently.
Most of the content stored in a corporate library tends to be closely tied to the industry in which the company operates. For example, the digital library at a law firm will typically include case law, legal references, and internal manuals
4. Government Libraries
These types of libraries are built to support government operations. They often store official publications, legislative documents, and reference materials. These resources are crucial for informing policy development and the provision of public services.
A famous example of this type of library is the Digital Government Hub, which offers reference materials that can help improve the delivery of government services.
5. Personal or Private Libraries
For those who want a curated collection of their favorite reads, personal libraries are the way to go. These customized collections allow you to add and store your favorite books, study materials, or other resources you’ve collected over time. Plus, they can be hosted locally on your device, through cloud storage, or even in custom-made apps. If you want, you can also share them with others!
As an example, someone might use an app like Calibre to manage a personal ebook collection on their computer or organize their content in a cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox. Others may create a private digital bookshelf using specialized platforms like Notion, Obsidian, or even their own personal website.
How to Create a Digital Library with Kotobee
As we’ve mentioned before, both individuals and organizations can benefit from having their own digital libraries. Whether you’re building a collection of reference materials or simply curating your favorite reads, a virtual library gives you quick, organized access to the content that matters to you.
So which tool can you use to create your very own library? The answer: Kotobee Library, an intuitive and easy-to-use program that supports regular ebooks, interactive ones, and even audiobooks. So without further ado, let’s go ahead and show you how to create a sample bookshelf using Kotobee Library.
1. Create Your Free Kotobee Account and Set Up a New Library
To get started, sign up for a free account on Kotobee. You’ll automatically receive a 30-day free trial with full access to all library features. Once your account is created, you can begin setting up your digital library directly through the Kotobee Author app.
2. Add Ebooks to Your Library
Now it’s time to add your content, and with Kotobee Library, you can include both ebooks and audiobooks. To do so, you can upload existing files or create new ones.
For ebooks, use Kotobee Author to build beautiful, interactive content with multimedia, quizzes, and more. You can then simply upload them to your library in one click through the Export tab.
3. Organize Your Library Using Categories
All libraries have categories for different types of books, and digital ones are no different. For example, fiction books can be split into different genres, such as fantasy and horror. Similarly, non-fiction books might be categorized into textbooks, magazines, reference manuals, and more.
As another example, you can arrange books by reading levels, such as “Beginner,” “Intermediate,” and “Advanced.” All you have to do is create new categories, name them, and add the ebooks to them!
4. Control Access to Your Content
With Kotobee Library, you can control user access to individual ebooks, making them available to specific readers. For example, you can offer free sample chapters of an ebook that all users can access. Then, if they want to continue reading the rest of the book, they will have to purchase it. You can also choose to make your library private or public with just a click of a button.
5. Customize Your Library’s Appearance
If you have a particular design for your library in mind, why not make it come true? After all, Kotobee Library allows you to customize the interface however you like. You can add a logo, adjust the colors of the interface, change the icons of the reading tools, and more. This can be useful for branding your library and making it stand out!
6. Publish Your Library and Invite Your Readers
Once your library is ready, it’s time to go live and share it with your audience! You can do so by sending the link to readers, which they can use to access the library directly from their web browser. Another option is to export the library as an app, which allows your readers to download it on their devices.
💡Pro Tip: If you want to selectively add readers to your library, you need to set it as private first. After that, you can start adding users using one of two ways: either individually via their email addresses or in bulk via an Excel sheet.
7. Sell Your Books (Optional)
Looking to sell your ebooks through Kotobee Library? It’s easy! You have three flexible options:
- Direct monetization via Stripe or PayPal: Earn 100% of the profits by integrating one of these payment gateways directly into Kotobee Library.
- Third-party integrations: Use eternal plugins like WooCommerce, Memberful, or Shopify to sell your ebooks or grant access to your library. WooCommerce and Memberful integrate via WordPress plugins, allowing you to link products to your ebooks or library in Kotobee. Meanwhile, Shopify works through the Kotobee Shopify Integration Plugin, a Shopify app that lets customers purchase access to your cloud or Library ebooks directly through your Shopify store.
A Few Practical Examples of Digital Libraries Made with Kotobee
It’s one thing to know that you can make your own virtual library, and another to see successful examples in the real world. It’s a great way to get a better look at just what Kotobee Library has to offer!
Here is a list of noteworthy virtual libraries powered by Kotobee:
- Kotobee Books: Kotobee Books is a free public digital library that offers a growing collection of interactive ebooks and audiobooks. Authors can publish their work to the library at no cost and earn 100% of the royalties from any sales. It’s an open platform that supports both readers looking for engaging content and writers seeking full control over their earnings.
- Ketab: Ketab, Egypt’s first national digital library, aims to make books more accessible to all readers. To make this vision a reality, the library offers over 2,000 titles along with advanced categorization and content management features to make navigation easy.
- AGSM by UNSW Sydney: The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) has created an accessible and intuitive library for its course content. As a result, students can easily access their study materials simply by opening this library from any of their devices.
- Algomhuria Newspaper: Crafting a successful digital newspaper can be a tall order, but Algomhuria Newspaper was able to achieve this goal. Now, readers of this paper can access the latest issues in an innovative, interactive format.
- Zedne Arabic Children’s Books: To help children with their Arabic learning journey, Zedne created a collection of children’s ebooks. The result is a vast library of interactive stories and workbooks, all in one package.
Final Thoughts
Storing ebooks may seem straightforward, but managing multiple formats across various devices can quickly become a hassle. That’s where digital libraries come in; they offer a smart, accessible way to organize and preserve your collection. And the best part? You don’t need hundreds of titles to build one. Just a few ebooks and a bit of time are enough to start your very own digital library.
Do you have any questions about digital libraries and how they work? If so, feel free to post them in the comments!
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