Milena Dobreva | University of Malta (original) (raw)

Books by Milena Dobreva

Research paper thumbnail of User Studies for Digital Library Development

Papers by Milena Dobreva

Research paper thumbnail of The First Steps in Creating Cultural Heritage Digital Resources in Bulgaria

ABSTRACT The paper presents the current state of the creation of digitised collections of cultura... more ABSTRACT The paper presents the current state of the creation of digitised collections of cultural heritage resources in Bulgaria. Two aspects of this process are discussed in detail: 1. the policy of establishing the first projects in the field, 2. the unsolved problems which require a quick solution.

Research paper thumbnail of First endeavors in the field

Conclusions Although the Bulgarian specialists already have practical experience in different com... more Conclusions Although the Bulgarian specialists already have practical experience in different computer applications to the medieval Slavic studies, the basic problem of developing internationally recognized encoding system is still unsolved. Under these circumstances, the efforts to collect digital resources are prone. This situation is unpleasant in general, and in countries in transition with many economic problems is a real disaster.

Research paper thumbnail of Overview of Computer Supported Medieval Slavic Manuscript Studies in Bulgaria

Research paper thumbnail of Scientific Heritage in Bulgaria Makes First Digital Steps

Abstract The paper presents recent initiatives in creation, delivery and management of scientific... more Abstract The paper presents recent initiatives in creation, delivery and management of scientific heritage digital resources in Bulgaria. The local and international tendencies will be sketched. Then the work of the Department for Digitization of Scientific Heritage at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and more specifically the joint projects with the State Department of Archives and the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will be described.

Research paper thumbnail of The DiSCmap project: Digitisation of special collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to present the outcomes of digitisation of special collectio... more Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to present the outcomes of digitisation of special collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation (DiSCmap), a JISC and RIN-funded project which studied users' priorities for the digitisation of special collections within the context of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach–The project produced a list of 945 collections nominated for digitisation by intermediaries and end users and a user-driven prioritisation framework.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Knowledge Management Aspects of Digital Preservation

The current digital preservation (DP) landscape is dominated by the ISO standard 14721: 2003 (OAI... more The current digital preservation (DP) landscape is dominated by the ISO standard 14721: 2003 (OAIS). This poster will present several approaches to digital preservation (policy-centric, functional, life-cycle management, constructivist, business-oriented, operational research, as well as highly specialised) and will seek to outline the connection between digital preservation and knowledge management. It will look especially into the place of the OAIS concept of “knowledge base” within the digital preservation system.

Research paper thumbnail of The DiSCmap project: overview and first results

Abstract. Traditionally, digitisation of cultural and scientific heritage material for use by the... more Abstract. Traditionally, digitisation of cultural and scientific heritage material for use by the scholarly community has been led by supply rather than demand. The DiSCmap project commissioned by JISC in 2008, aimed to study what refocussing of digitisation efforts will suit best the users of digitised materials, especially in the context of the research and teaching in the higher education institutions in the UK.

Research paper thumbnail of Digital natives and specialised digital libraries: A study of Europeana users

The alignment of user needs with the technical capabilities of modern digital libraries is an are... more The alignment of user needs with the technical capabilities of modern digital libraries is an area attracting the interest of researchers and practitioners. Europeana, conceived with the intention of offering a single access point to European cultural heritage, has been developed in recent years with a continuous effort to identify and respond to the needs of a range of users. This paper presents a study of two user communities–young people and the general public.

Research paper thumbnail of L. Candela, D. Castelli, N. Ferro, Y. Ioannidis, G. Koutrika, C. Meghini, P. Pagano, S. Ross, D. Soergel

The term 'Digital Library'is currently used to refer to systems that are heterogeneous in scope a... more The term 'Digital Library'is currently used to refer to systems that are heterogeneous in scope and yield very different functionality. These systems range from digital object and metadata repositories, reference-linking systems, archives, and content administration systems (mainly developed by industry) to complex systems that integrate advanced digital library services (mainly developed in research environments).

Research paper thumbnail of Automation in Digital Preservation

A system is a collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of func... more A system is a collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of functions [1]. In each moment the systems' functions are perceived as outputs resulting from the combination of the state of its information model, of its inputs, and of the behavioural model defined for that system.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitization of Cultural Heritage–Standards, Institutions, Initiatives

The term Cultural Heritage (CH) designates a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, ... more The term Cultural Heritage (CH) designates a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value. CH can be seen as of world, regional, national, or local importance.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitisation of Cultural Heritage: between EU Priorities and Bulgarian Realities

The paper presents the Bulgarian setting in digital preservation of and access to cultural and sc... more The paper presents the Bulgarian setting in digital preservation of and access to cultural and scientific heritage. It mentions key Bulgarian institutions, which take or should take part in digitisation endeavours. It also presents examples of building and adapting specialised tools in the field, and more specifically SPWC, ACT and XEditMan.

Research paper thumbnail of Novel Comparative Study of the Dating of Bulgarian Parchment Manuscripts

Abstract: There is an ongoing scholarly debate on the exact time and speed of replacement of parc... more Abstract: There is an ongoing scholarly debate on the exact time and speed of replacement of parchment with paper. There are three different hypotheses about the time of change: the first one based on Sobolevskij research suggests that paper completely replaced parchment as early as in 14th century; the second one put forward by Hunter is that parchment was still widely used during the 15th century; and the third ones dates the change as late as 16th century.

Research paper thumbnail of Discovery and use of art images on the web: an overview

K. Ivanova a,*, M. Dobreva b, P. Stanchev a, c, K. Vanhoofd a Institute of Mathematics and Inform... more K. Ivanova a,*, M. Dobreva b, P. Stanchev a, c, K. Vanhoofd a Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria–kivanova@ math. bas. bg b Centre for Digital Libraries Research, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK–milena. dobreva@ strath. ac. uk c Kettering University, Flint, MI, 48504, USA–pstanche@ kettering. edu d Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium–koen. vanhoof@ uhasselt. be KEY WORDS: Art Images, Repositories, Image Retrieval, Content-Based Indexing, User Expectations, Interoperability, Europeana

Research paper thumbnail of New Publishing Models for the Slavonic Mediaeval Manuscripts

Abstract. The paper presents the experience of our team in using methods for electronic presentat... more Abstract. The paper presents the experience of our team in using methods for electronic presentation of mediaeval manuscripts in Bulgaria. The advantages of the electronic edition are:• providing high quality of the images• facilitating and widening the access (Slavonic manuscripts and early printed books are spread in different libraries in Europe and former USSR.

Research paper thumbnail of 10291 Abstracts Collection--Automation in Digital Preservation}}

Abstract Digital Preservation has evolved into a specialized, interdisciplinary research discipli... more Abstract Digital Preservation has evolved into a specialized, interdisciplinary research discipline of its own, seeing significant increases in terms of research capacity, results, but also challenges. However, with this specialization and subsequent formation of a dedicated subgroup of researchers active in this field, limitations of the challenges addressed can be observed.

Research paper thumbnail of Seminar 06491: Digital Historical Corpora

Design (composition) of corpora: While literary scholars often work on one text (or a small numbe... more Design (composition) of corpora: While literary scholars often work on one text (or a small number of related texts), many research questions in linguistics and lexicography require a collection of several texts. Corpus design is, of course, always an issue in corpus construction. Ideally a matrix of the necessary parameters (text type, author, time etc.) is constructed and all 'cells' are filled with the appropriate texts. For older time periods this is often not possible since the texts might not have survived.

Research paper thumbnail of Culture Heritage Digital Repositories. Research Questions}}

Abstract This discussion is about innovative solutions for assembling multimedia digital reposito... more Abstract This discussion is about innovative solutions for assembling multimedia digital repositories for collaborative use in specific contexts and communities and enhancing scholarly understanding and experiences of digital cultural heritage. Several aspects are stress such as the dynamic aggregation of cross-media resources across existing institutional digital libraries and repositories.

Research paper thumbnail of Digital Preservation and Access to Cultural and Scientific Heritage: Presentation of the KT-DigiCult-BG Project

The fast development and wide application of digital methods, combined with broadened access to t... more The fast development and wide application of digital methods, combined with broadened access to the Internet and falling computing costs, have created intense interest in electronic presentation and access to cultural and scientific heritage resources. Information technologies have offered cultural institutions new opportunities for the presentation of their holdings, which are now made accessible not only to the specialists, but also to the citizens and interested parties worldwide.

Research paper thumbnail of User Studies for Digital Library Development

Research paper thumbnail of The First Steps in Creating Cultural Heritage Digital Resources in Bulgaria

ABSTRACT The paper presents the current state of the creation of digitised collections of cultura... more ABSTRACT The paper presents the current state of the creation of digitised collections of cultural heritage resources in Bulgaria. Two aspects of this process are discussed in detail: 1. the policy of establishing the first projects in the field, 2. the unsolved problems which require a quick solution.

Research paper thumbnail of First endeavors in the field

Conclusions Although the Bulgarian specialists already have practical experience in different com... more Conclusions Although the Bulgarian specialists already have practical experience in different computer applications to the medieval Slavic studies, the basic problem of developing internationally recognized encoding system is still unsolved. Under these circumstances, the efforts to collect digital resources are prone. This situation is unpleasant in general, and in countries in transition with many economic problems is a real disaster.

Research paper thumbnail of Overview of Computer Supported Medieval Slavic Manuscript Studies in Bulgaria

Research paper thumbnail of Scientific Heritage in Bulgaria Makes First Digital Steps

Abstract The paper presents recent initiatives in creation, delivery and management of scientific... more Abstract The paper presents recent initiatives in creation, delivery and management of scientific heritage digital resources in Bulgaria. The local and international tendencies will be sketched. Then the work of the Department for Digitization of Scientific Heritage at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and more specifically the joint projects with the State Department of Archives and the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences will be described.

Research paper thumbnail of The DiSCmap project: Digitisation of special collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to present the outcomes of digitisation of special collectio... more Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to present the outcomes of digitisation of special collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation (DiSCmap), a JISC and RIN-funded project which studied users' priorities for the digitisation of special collections within the context of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach–The project produced a list of 945 collections nominated for digitisation by intermediaries and end users and a user-driven prioritisation framework.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Knowledge Management Aspects of Digital Preservation

The current digital preservation (DP) landscape is dominated by the ISO standard 14721: 2003 (OAI... more The current digital preservation (DP) landscape is dominated by the ISO standard 14721: 2003 (OAIS). This poster will present several approaches to digital preservation (policy-centric, functional, life-cycle management, constructivist, business-oriented, operational research, as well as highly specialised) and will seek to outline the connection between digital preservation and knowledge management. It will look especially into the place of the OAIS concept of “knowledge base” within the digital preservation system.

Research paper thumbnail of The DiSCmap project: overview and first results

Abstract. Traditionally, digitisation of cultural and scientific heritage material for use by the... more Abstract. Traditionally, digitisation of cultural and scientific heritage material for use by the scholarly community has been led by supply rather than demand. The DiSCmap project commissioned by JISC in 2008, aimed to study what refocussing of digitisation efforts will suit best the users of digitised materials, especially in the context of the research and teaching in the higher education institutions in the UK.

Research paper thumbnail of Digital natives and specialised digital libraries: A study of Europeana users

The alignment of user needs with the technical capabilities of modern digital libraries is an are... more The alignment of user needs with the technical capabilities of modern digital libraries is an area attracting the interest of researchers and practitioners. Europeana, conceived with the intention of offering a single access point to European cultural heritage, has been developed in recent years with a continuous effort to identify and respond to the needs of a range of users. This paper presents a study of two user communities–young people and the general public.

Research paper thumbnail of L. Candela, D. Castelli, N. Ferro, Y. Ioannidis, G. Koutrika, C. Meghini, P. Pagano, S. Ross, D. Soergel

The term 'Digital Library'is currently used to refer to systems that are heterogeneous in scope a... more The term 'Digital Library'is currently used to refer to systems that are heterogeneous in scope and yield very different functionality. These systems range from digital object and metadata repositories, reference-linking systems, archives, and content administration systems (mainly developed by industry) to complex systems that integrate advanced digital library services (mainly developed in research environments).

Research paper thumbnail of Automation in Digital Preservation

A system is a collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of func... more A system is a collection of components organized to accomplish a specific function or set of functions [1]. In each moment the systems' functions are perceived as outputs resulting from the combination of the state of its information model, of its inputs, and of the behavioural model defined for that system.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitization of Cultural Heritage–Standards, Institutions, Initiatives

The term Cultural Heritage (CH) designates a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, ... more The term Cultural Heritage (CH) designates a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value. CH can be seen as of world, regional, national, or local importance.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitisation of Cultural Heritage: between EU Priorities and Bulgarian Realities

The paper presents the Bulgarian setting in digital preservation of and access to cultural and sc... more The paper presents the Bulgarian setting in digital preservation of and access to cultural and scientific heritage. It mentions key Bulgarian institutions, which take or should take part in digitisation endeavours. It also presents examples of building and adapting specialised tools in the field, and more specifically SPWC, ACT and XEditMan.

Research paper thumbnail of Novel Comparative Study of the Dating of Bulgarian Parchment Manuscripts

Abstract: There is an ongoing scholarly debate on the exact time and speed of replacement of parc... more Abstract: There is an ongoing scholarly debate on the exact time and speed of replacement of parchment with paper. There are three different hypotheses about the time of change: the first one based on Sobolevskij research suggests that paper completely replaced parchment as early as in 14th century; the second one put forward by Hunter is that parchment was still widely used during the 15th century; and the third ones dates the change as late as 16th century.

Research paper thumbnail of Discovery and use of art images on the web: an overview

K. Ivanova a,*, M. Dobreva b, P. Stanchev a, c, K. Vanhoofd a Institute of Mathematics and Inform... more K. Ivanova a,*, M. Dobreva b, P. Stanchev a, c, K. Vanhoofd a Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria–kivanova@ math. bas. bg b Centre for Digital Libraries Research, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK–milena. dobreva@ strath. ac. uk c Kettering University, Flint, MI, 48504, USA–pstanche@ kettering. edu d Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium–koen. vanhoof@ uhasselt. be KEY WORDS: Art Images, Repositories, Image Retrieval, Content-Based Indexing, User Expectations, Interoperability, Europeana

Research paper thumbnail of New Publishing Models for the Slavonic Mediaeval Manuscripts

Abstract. The paper presents the experience of our team in using methods for electronic presentat... more Abstract. The paper presents the experience of our team in using methods for electronic presentation of mediaeval manuscripts in Bulgaria. The advantages of the electronic edition are:• providing high quality of the images• facilitating and widening the access (Slavonic manuscripts and early printed books are spread in different libraries in Europe and former USSR.

Research paper thumbnail of 10291 Abstracts Collection--Automation in Digital Preservation}}

Abstract Digital Preservation has evolved into a specialized, interdisciplinary research discipli... more Abstract Digital Preservation has evolved into a specialized, interdisciplinary research discipline of its own, seeing significant increases in terms of research capacity, results, but also challenges. However, with this specialization and subsequent formation of a dedicated subgroup of researchers active in this field, limitations of the challenges addressed can be observed.

Research paper thumbnail of Seminar 06491: Digital Historical Corpora

Design (composition) of corpora: While literary scholars often work on one text (or a small numbe... more Design (composition) of corpora: While literary scholars often work on one text (or a small number of related texts), many research questions in linguistics and lexicography require a collection of several texts. Corpus design is, of course, always an issue in corpus construction. Ideally a matrix of the necessary parameters (text type, author, time etc.) is constructed and all 'cells' are filled with the appropriate texts. For older time periods this is often not possible since the texts might not have survived.

Research paper thumbnail of Culture Heritage Digital Repositories. Research Questions}}

Abstract This discussion is about innovative solutions for assembling multimedia digital reposito... more Abstract This discussion is about innovative solutions for assembling multimedia digital repositories for collaborative use in specific contexts and communities and enhancing scholarly understanding and experiences of digital cultural heritage. Several aspects are stress such as the dynamic aggregation of cross-media resources across existing institutional digital libraries and repositories.

Research paper thumbnail of Digital Preservation and Access to Cultural and Scientific Heritage: Presentation of the KT-DigiCult-BG Project

The fast development and wide application of digital methods, combined with broadened access to t... more The fast development and wide application of digital methods, combined with broadened access to the Internet and falling computing costs, have created intense interest in electronic presentation and access to cultural and scientific heritage resources. Information technologies have offered cultural institutions new opportunities for the presentation of their holdings, which are now made accessible not only to the specialists, but also to the citizens and interested parties worldwide.

Research paper thumbnail of 06491 Summary--Digital Historical Corpora-Architecture, Annotation, and Retrieval

Abstract The seminar" Digital Historical Corpora" brought together scholars from (historical) lin... more Abstract The seminar" Digital Historical Corpora" brought together scholars from (historical) linguistics,(historical) philology, computational linguistics and computer science who work with collections of historical texts. The issues that were discussed include digitization, corpus design, corpus architecture, annotation, search, and retrieval.