In May 2011, the Digital Public Library of America Steering Committee announced a Beta Sprint to seek ideas and models that demonstrate how the DPLA might index and provide access to a wide range of broadly distributed content. In September 2011, an independent review panel appointed by the DPLA Steering Committee reviewed the betas. Based on the panel’s recommendations, the Steering Committee invited creators of the most promising betas to present their ideas during the first plenary meeting, in October 2011. These betas are:
- Digital Collaboration for America’s National Collections
- DLF/DCC: DPLA Beta Sprint
- extraMUROS
- Government Publications: Enhanced Access and Discovery through
Open Linked Data and Crowdsourcing - Metadata Interoperability Services
- ShelfLife and LibraryCloud
Three additional betas that may serve as useful additions to the DPLA’s initial technical foundation were also invited to present:
The Steering Committee is currently reviewing comments on these betas and guiding development of a working prototype for the DPLA. Successful beta sprinters have been invited to contribute to the DPLA technical development plan.
A full list of final Beta Sprint submissions, including interactive demos, is available at Beta Sprint Submissions.
More information about the Beta Sprint can be found on the DPLA wiki.
Photo: The Beta Sprint Review Panel meets at the Berkman Center in Cambridge, MA on September 19, 2011.