COMPARISONS

A comparison of digital library systems and capabilities in Japan and the United States suggests the following:

• In the United States and Japan, digital libraries are custom integrations with emphasis on a common set of core capabilities.
• In the United States and Japan, compelling examples of digital library systems and architecture solve specific business problems.
• Scaling of digital library capacity depends on internationally shared data, metadata, and distributed systems standards.
• For the next decade, the digital libraries will be based on common core technologies designed, implemented, and integrated to support certain business processes.
• Japan and the United States are comparable regarding architectures and systems as such.
• Japanese technology companies stress mainline multimedia middleware, while U.S. startup companies are more innovative.