What is Digital Libraries (DLs)

The interaction process between humans and published writings started a long time ago, and people have been making notes or providing written comments about the material that they have been reading ever since. These comments were then circulated and shared among their colleagues and were believed to have played an important part in the dissemination of knowledge (Tribble, 1997). With advances in computing technology, paper-based print is giving way to digital media as more printed documents now appear in an electronic format. These electronic copies of a document are likely to be read, possibly marked, and shared by a number of people. Therefore, a rise in knowledge and information sharing via electronic (e-) writings (in the form of annotations) should be anticipated as active reading and document sharing becomes a convenient activity. Thus, the focus of this article is on elaborating the basic concepts of information sharing among networked reader communities through markings made on electronic (e-) documents.