Thinking about Digital Earth and Digital Library The topic of this paper is thinking about Digital Earth and Digital Library. The date of the article is 2001-12-13 Author Chen Shuyuan/Jiang Author's brief introduction Chen Shuyuan, Jiang, School of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 47500 1 Chen Shuyuan, Jiang, female, 1960, born in Henan University, Environment and Planning. This paper expounds the dialectical relationship between the digital earth and the digital library, advances some suggestions on trying to build the digital earth library, and expounds the necessity, possibility and great significance of building the digital earth library. Topic discussion keywords: digital earth/digital library/digital earth library text 1 the meaning of digital earth1998 65438+1October 3 1 day, in his report "digital earth-understanding our earth in 2 1 century", Vice President Al Gore of the United States. The so-called digital earth can be understood as a unified digital reproduction and understanding of the real earth and its related phenomena. Its core idea is to use digital means to deal with all aspects of the natural and social activities of the whole earth, make maximum use of resources, and enable ordinary people to easily obtain the information they want to know about the earth in some way. It is characterized by embedding massive geographic data to realize multi-resolution and three-dimensional description of the earth, which is spatial, digital and holistic. In fact, the digital earth is a virtual earth. The key technologies of digital earth are remote sensing technology, geographic information system, computer technology, network technology and multi-dimensional virtual reality technology. It includes three important components: information acquisition, information processing and information application. Digital Earth is the objective process of the development of world economy and information technology, and it is the historical necessity of information globalization and internationalization under modern high-tech conditions. If a country ignores the digital earth strategy when formulating its development strategy, it will lose the historic opportunity brought by international economic integration and face the severe challenge of national economic security. Therefore, owning the digital earth is equivalent to occupying an important strategic commanding height of the knowledge economy society. 2 The concept of digital library The concept of digital library is to organize digital information and its technology to enter the library and provide effective services. Almost all the carrier information of the library can be obtained in digital form, and readers can access the external digital library and literature information database system through network organization. In other words, the digital library is a huge digital information resource pool, which can be searched across databases. Its characteristics are "digitalization of collection, computerization of operation, networking of transmission, liberalization of information storage, sharing of resources and structural connection". The construction of digital library also needs the support of high technology, including digitalization technology, retrieval technology, storage technology, collaborative technology and interactive technology, distance education, search engine and navigation technology, security and copyright research technology and digital library information management system. Digital library consists of three parts: database management service system, library network communication system and digital information resources. Digital library based on network technology and modern computer technology provides readers with more extensive and convenient services than traditional libraries, brings bright prospects for the troubled library cause, and gives full play to various functions of the library. Therefore, the digital library will become an indispensable information security system in the knowledge-based economy society, and its construction has become an important symbol to measure the information basic level of a country. 3 The relationship between digital earth and digital library Digital earth is an information model of the earth, and a huge information source is the key to the formation of digital earth. Like a digital library, it develops information resources by digital means, which has the characteristics of large-scale, high investment, interdisciplinary and global sharing. It is based on the information superhighway and relies on high technology to serve the society. Therefore, the digital earth and the digital library are both important nodes of the information superhighway and an important part of the information service industry. However, the two are different. 80% of the information that people contact and use in economy, society and life is related to geospatial information, which is an important source of "goods" on the information superhighway. In the digital earth, various social, economic, cultural and other complex information is located and organized by geospatial information, which is the carrier of other information. Therefore, the digital earth, which is characterized by processing all spatial data related to spatial location and all text data related to it in digital form, is the main core of future information resources. It is precisely because of the core position of digital earth in information service industry that there is a guiding and auxiliary relationship between digital earth and digital library. 3. 1 Digital Earth, as a high-level, holistic and instructive strategy, is put forward to guide the development of earth science and information services, including digital libraries, mainly for the needs of national goals and global strategies. It is not an isolated project, but an overall and guiding strategic goal. In the cross-century development of China, achieving sustainable economic and social development, maintaining a peaceful and stable international environment, and developing the ability of independent innovation in science and technology are three strategic goals. The proposal of digital earth provides us with an opportunity to integrate the acquisition, processing, analysis, enjoyment and development of earth science, information science and technology and related industries from the national level. It will integrate and apply existing and developing theories, technologies, data and capabilities from a higher level, from the perspective of system theory and integration, and provide services for achieving national strategic goals more widely, deeply, effectively and economically. Therefore, as an important institution of information service industry, digital library must not ignore the development of geospatial information, which accounts for 80% of human information. The development goal of digital library must be formulated under the guidance of digital earth strategy, otherwise the digital library strategy that ignores digital earth strategy will be an imperfect goal. 3.2 As a new online information resource management mode, digital library is the information infrastructure for the smooth implementation of the digital earth strategy. The core of digital earth is data. National information infrastructure is the foundation of national spatial data infrastructure and digital earth. Therefore, the development of digital earth must first develop national information infrastructure and national spatial data infrastructure. As an important part of national information infrastructure, digital library plays an important supporting role in the implementation of digital earth. The data field of digital earth in the United States is basically divided into three levels: national data center group directly led by NASA, for-profit data company or commercial company, and data center group led by data centers of ministries and universities and digital libraries. They clearly put forward that the construction of digital library should be regarded as an important level. China also places digital libraries in an equally important position. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, the core work of China Digital Earth is to coordinate digital libraries and commercial data centers at all levels on the basis of building a nationwide, multifunctional and collaborative data center group, which is an important part of the national information infrastructure construction. In addition, the development speed and scale of the digital earth market directly depend on the popularity of data and information application technology. The reason why the digital earth market in China has not formed is that the application of data and information technology in China has just started. Therefore, in order to promote the formation of digital earth market, it is necessary to strengthen the training and education of data and information technology application. Digital libraries with both information and education functions have the obligation and ability to contribute to the development of digital earth market. In a sense, digital library is also an important part of digital earth. 4 Necessity and Possibility of Building a Digital Earth Library 4. 1 Necessity The digital earth is a virtual comparison of the physical earth, but this comparison is not only a copy of the geographical surface of the physical earth, but a comprehensive copy and expansion of social and natural activities based on the geographical surface. Its region is global, and its content should be a network activity based on spatial data and supported by information technology in all aspects of human activities such as nature, society, politics, economy and culture. Therefore, the digital earth is not only a problem of the development of spatial information technology and earth science, but also needs multi-field and multi-disciplinary content to enrich and enrich it. Due to the particularity of spatial data resource management, on the basis of national information center and provincial and municipal information centers or information ports, it is necessary to establish special institutions to be responsible for the management and distribution of spatial data. Digital library is famous for its rich information resources and efficient development, which makes it possible to meet the multi-field and interdisciplinary cooperation of digital earth. Therefore, it is suggested to try to combine digital earth and digital library to build a forward-looking and advanced information infrastructure, namely digital earth library, which not only enriches the connotation and extension of digital earth, but also gives full play to various functions of digital library. 4.2 Possibility It is not only necessary and urgent, but also possible to establish a digital earth library. The collection and processing of digital geospatial data is the responsibility of national specialized agencies, and the Digital Earth Library can be responsible for the storage, management, transmission and enjoyment of spatial and other data. The establishment of digital earth library must be a government action and needs the joint efforts of all walks of life. Our government attaches great importance to the development of information industry. The implementation of "National Key Project", "863 Plan" and other scientific and technological development plans, as well as the country's increased investment in natural science funds and digital libraries, have provided macro-policy support for the construction of China Digital Earth Library. There are similarities and differences between digital earth and digital library in terms of technical foundation, data construction and talent reserve, but the organic combination of the two will complement each other. (1) In terms of technology, through the joint efforts of the information technology community, space technology community, earth science community and information service community, it has possessed all kinds of technologies, data and capabilities, including all kinds of standards and specifications, needed for building a digital earth library. (2) Data has begun to take shape. In the past 20 years, the relevant state units have accumulated a large number of original digital data and corresponding materials needed for China to build a digital earth. Digital library is rich in digital information, which provides a solid foundation for loading geospatial data of social, economic, demographic and other information. (3) In terms of talent pool, there are a group of experienced scientists in the field of geosciences in China at present. After long-term knowledge accumulation, they have strong comprehensive analysis ability of geoscience information, and may become information consulting experts in digital earth database. In the field of library, a group of digital librarians with professional knowledge in the field of library and information science have grown up, who can skillfully apply computer and network skills. Digital Earth Library is controlled by these professional and technical talents, and their in-depth development and utilization of earth information and other information resources will be immeasurable. The significance of building a digital earth library 5. 1 Building a digital earth library is an important means to implement the sustainable development strategy. With the rapid increase of the world population and the massive consumption of resources, the ecological environment has gradually deteriorated, and the problems of environment, resources and population with the rapid economic development have become the focus of world attention. 1987, the United nations put forward the idea of sustainable development, that is, "developing the contemporary without endangering the development requirements of future generations." Digital earth library provides us with very favorable conditions for studying this problem. Using modern information technology in digital earth database, the spatial data and other professional data are comprehensively analyzed from a systematic and holistic perspective, and its application will be extended to many aspects related to spatial distribution, such as monitoring global climate change, sea level change, desertification, ecological environment change and land use change; Develop precision agriculture, strengthen the monitoring and protection of water resources, and strengthen the prediction, monitoring and prevention of natural disasters dominated by floods; Digital earth library can play a great role in cultivating and establishing global citizens' environmental awareness and sustainable development concept. 5.2 is an effective way to achieve the goal of leaping development. The development of science, economy and society is highly nonlinear. Not only can it achieve leap-forward development, but it is also the only way for a country to quickly become a world power. As a pillar industry in 2 1 century, information industry will occupy a considerable proportion in the national economy. The gap between China and developed countries lies in the low level of informatization. As an important node of the information superhighway, Digital Earth Library will play a great role in improving the level of informatization in China. The most convenient place for the effective combination of digital earth and digital library is that it can load China's economic, social and population information on the basis of spatial data framework. Rich data and efficient means of organization and development make it possible for us to reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials, reduce the amazing waste of manpower, financial resources and material resources in the national economy, make China's economy quickly integrate with the international economy, and provide a solid and reliable information guarantee system and information circulation environment for China's scientific and technological innovation and national defense development. Therefore, the digital earth library is an effective way to enhance China's national strength and realize leap-forward development. 5.3 is one of the main driving forces to promote library science innovation. The construction of digital earth library is not accomplished overnight. Its construction involves the cooperation of information science, space science, environmental science, earth science, library science and other disciplines, and needs the continuous exploration and in-depth research of scientists from various disciplines. Therefore, the digital earth library provides a good opportunity for the innovative development of library cause. Advanced communication technology makes it possible to query and share resources in different places. However, in the construction of digital libraries in China, there are insufficient funds and weak technical force. In order to avoid the huge waste of manpower, material resources and financial resources, it is unnecessary and unnecessary for China to repeatedly build a digital library with content coverage. All localities should build distinctive digital libraries according to their own advantages and avoid repeated construction. Therefore, the development direction of the library should be "abandoning the small and comprehensive pattern and taking the road of large and specialized professional literature information classification". On the one hand, high-value and high-standard characteristic literature resources are one of the important contents of digital library construction. On the other hand, the construction of digital library also needs to take the route of * * * cooperation, relying on the extensive support of the government and all walks of life to ensure the smooth implementation of digital library construction. Digital Earth Library is a characteristic digital library based on the idea of division of labor and cooperation to develop characteristic collections, and multi-disciplinary cooperation to develop earth information resources. In the process of building digital earth library, there are many topics related to digital library that need to be studied, which provides opportunities and challenges for the development of library science. The construction of digital earth library will not only enrich and expand the connotation and extension of digital earth, but also greatly promote the innovative development of library science. Reference 1 Cai Shuguang. Opportunities and challenges of library development. Journal of Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2000, (5) 2. China Digital Library: Not an Easy Choice. Journal of library science in china, 2000, (2) 3 Wu New Year. Technical progress of digital library. Library and Information Science, 2000, (2) Wei. A comparative study of Chinese and foreign digital libraries. Jintu Academic Journal, 2000, (3) 5 Li Yu 'an. Review on the research and practice of electronic library and digital library. 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