https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Distributed_libraryDistributed library - Revision history2026-07-31T12:00:24ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Distributed_library&diff=287963&oldid=previmported>LewisMoten: /* Early Concepts */ advertiser as author for tabard inn library to patrons2025-02-18T11:50:00Z<p><span class="autocomment">Early Concepts: </span> advertiser as author for tabard inn library to patrons</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:New library.JPG|alt=An example of a private library where the user could lend books from to others.|thumb|350x350px|An example of a private library where the user could lend books from to others. ]]<br />
A '''distributed library''' is a collection of materials available for borrowing by members of a group, yet not maintained or owned by a single entity. The [[library catalog]] is maintained on a database that is made accessible to users through the [[Internet]]. This style of library is still in its infancy. Administrative software continues to be developed and distributed.<br />
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An early example of this style of library (if not the first of its type) is the Distributed Library Project of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref>[http://www.nongnu.org/dlp/ Distributed Library Project]</ref> While distributed libraries are being established in several cities worldwide, the San Francisco Bay Area library still only has a few hundred members.<br />
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Another example, which takes a slightly different approach, is the Unlibrary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unlibrary.com/index.pl?rm=tour1 |title=Unlibrary (archived version of website) |access-date=2011-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022122620/http://www.unlibrary.com/index.pl?rm=tour1 |archive-date=2011-10-22 |url-status=live }}</ref> In this system, users are free to create communities of any size and scope, rather than a single citywide community. For instance a church might have its own community, with church members all able to borrow from each other. Users can also have private, invite-only groups.<br />
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Another example is the digibruted library of Geneva.<ref>[https://digilioge.wordpress.com/ Digilioge: The Digibruted Library of Geneva]</ref> The name digibruted is coined from “Digital” and “Distributed”. This library is a digital construction that indexes books for local distribution. The difference from Unlibrary is that the books are freely given to readers, who act also as librarians, in a kind of peer-to-peer schema.<br />
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==Early Concepts==<br />
A precursor is the [[Tabard Inn Library]] established in 1902 where travelers could check out books at one station and return them at another, with each station operated by a different individual.<ref>{{Cite journal<br />
|title=Tabard Inn Library Promotion for Patrons<br />
|journal=The Minneapolis Journal<br />
|author=William Donaldson & Company<br />
|date=September 9, 1904<br />
|page=5<br />
|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabard_Inn_Library_ad.png<br />
|access-date=2025-02-18<br />
}}</ref> To patrons, the library appeared as a distributed library. The Book Lovers Library based in Philadelphia, PA rented the books to each exchange station.<ref>{{Cite journal<br />
|title=Tabard Inn Library Promotion for Vendors<br />
|journal=The American Magazine<br />
|volume=42<br />
|issue=6<br />
|date=October 1906<br />
|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabard_Inn_Library_ad_1906.png<br />
|access-date=2025-02-18<br />
}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[BookCrossing]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Library science]]<br />
[[Category:Libraries by type]]<br />
[[Category:Types of library]]</div>imported>LewisMoten