A collaborative effort of the ten campuses, organizationally housed at the University of California Office of the President, it is responsible for the design, creation, and implementation of systems that support the shared collections of the University of California. Several CDL projects focus on collaboration with other California Universities and organizations to create and extend access to digital material to UC partners and to the public at large. The CDL, founded in 1997, is the result of a three-year planning process, beginning with the Digital Library Executive Working Group commissioned by Library Council and culminating with the Library Planning and Action Initiative commissioned by the Provost, which involved UC faculty, librarians, and administrators. New information resources are added continuously while significant enhancements or additions to services, including the CDL web sites, are released every six months in January and July.
University libraries are in a time of transition.
They are being asked to blend new digital formats with existing print collections. The combined buying power of the campuses allows us to obtain more favorable contracts, while centralizing negotiation and licensing reduces overhead costs for local campus libraries. The CDL also organizes projects to digitize and distribute UC owned and produced content, such as technical reports, databases, archival materials and museum collections and make this content available systemwide. Developing systems and technology to enhance shared collections. The increasing cost of information is forcing all libraries, including those in the University of California, to rely more heavily on resource sharing.