The Ball State University Digital Media Repository: A Global Resource for Research, Teaching, and Learning
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Dr. Arthur Hafner, Dean of University Libraries, Ball State University
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The Ball State University Digital Media Repository (DMR), http:/llibx.bsu.edu, is a unique educative project of the University Libraries. It provides a centralized, coordinated, and user-focused resource to serve the teaching, learning, academic achievement, and research needs of students, faculty, and researchers. The DMR coalesces the digital collections and projects of the University Libraries into a single, cohesive, accessible, easy to navigate, Web-based environment, while also providing access to external digital resources that support the educational processes for instructional objectives and learning outcomes.
The DMR has demonstrated tremendous growth since its beginnings in late 2004. It has increased from two collections containing approximately 2,000 digital objects to 72 collections with more than 120,000 digital objects. The DMR is a collaborative resource that includes the University Libraries’ collections and those of faculty and academic departments, students, community members and organizations, and other local and regional cultural, historical, and educational institutions that see it as a way of providing access to singular and exclusive materials. Evidence of the DMR’s success as a collaborative project can be found in the five Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) digitization grants that the University Libraries has received to support creation of digital collections in the DMR since 2005.
The ultimate value of any resource is in its use, functionality for usability, and how the technology aids others in meeting their objectives. An analysis of visits to the DMR during the seven-month period of September 2008 through March 2009 showed 286,476 hits. In March 2009, for example, there were 89,151 visits to different collections in the DMR. These statistics reflect use by Ball State students, faculty, international researchers, the media, and many other users who are both local and global.
The Ball State University Libraries continually strive to be a strategic part of each student’s academic achievement and success plan by providing outstanding programs, efficient and effective services, and access to rich collections. Digital initiatives are a vital part of this objective. The DMR is a key component of the Libraries’ goal to expand digital initiatives and facilitate development of emerging media opportunities for learning, research, and classroom enhancement. The DMR serves as the educative vehicle that makes the University Libraries a proactive producer of digital content.
The Ball State University Digital Media Repository continues to be a highly successful resource and service in the ongoing transition from print to digital resources that meets the expectations and information needs of the Ball State academic community and the continually growing international, global research community.
