Using the Linux Documentation Project as an example of a collaborative, user-constructed digital library, how was the project begun and what are the patterns of its growth over the past decade (1992-2002)? ------------------------------------- Collaborative digital libraries are user-constructed archives which serve to document the shared knowledge of the virtual community. Unlike other virtual communities, which may grow around a shared discussion point or scenario, a collaborative archive exists to allow the users to document and contribute their knowledge. Using the Linux Documentation Project as an example of a collaborative, user-constructed digital library, how did the project originate and what are the patterns of its growth and change in contributors over a decade (1992-2002)? ------------------------------------- Using the publicly available archives of emails, interviews, and published archives, this longitudinal study will document the founding and growth of the Linux Documentation Project from a small group of linux enthuasists, who communicated via email list to the largest source of Open Source documenation in the world. Methodology: Research Resources: newsgroup archives, such as: comp.os.linux.announcelinux-announce.archive linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi (sent via Lars W ) old/ldp-discuss - LDP mail list traffic graph: http://lists.debian.org/stats/ldp-discuss.png Snapshots of the archive as it evolved: The Internet Archive Wayback Machine and existing documentation: http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/LDP-Reviewer-HOWTO/existing.html Linux Gazette Issue - past issues Bibliographic databases: recommended for Computer Science: Applied Science & Technology Abstracts (1983-date) Science Citation Index (Web of Science) (1975-date) ArticleFirst Expanded Academic ASAP InfoTrac OneFile Proceedings WorldCat General Sciences Abstracts (1984-date) OCLC FirstSearch General: Academic Universe Medium: Web Coverage: Varies. Some of the files go back to the 1970s Internet and computing: ACM Digital Library Web Coverage: 1985-present (Conference proceedings before 1991 may be citation only) Applied Science and Technology Index Via OCLC FirstSearch Medium: Web Coverage: Citations -1983-present;Abstracts - 1994- present IEEE http://www.ieee.org/web/search/ Internet and Personal Computing Abstracts (InternetPCAbs) Via OCLC FirstSearch Medium: Web Coverage: 1989-present JSAIST - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and technology http://www.asis.org/Publications/JASIS/jasis.html fulltext online through: Wiley Interscience Medium - Click on Journal Finder, then the letter "J" Scroll down to Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Web Coverage: Varies Language: English Library: Library Literature (LibraryLit) Via OCLC FirstSearch Medium: Web Coverage: 1980-present Social Science: Sociological Abstracts (Sociofile) Via Silverplatter Medium: Web Coverage: 1963-present Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) Via ISI Citation Databases (Web of Science) Medium: Web Coverage: 1980-present Search terms: electronic community - maps to: Electronic discussion groups, Library information networks (too broad - returns 97 base hits) Digital library/ies - occurs 249 times Electronic publishing Electronic information resources Electronic books Virtual communities Online community Bulletin Boards Open Source Linux Social capital