Goncalves, Marcos A.Fox, Edward A.Watson, Layne T.Kipp, Neill A.2013-06-192013-06-192001http://hdl.handle.net/10919/20034Digital libraries (DLs) are complex information systems and therefore demand formal foundations lest development efforts diverge and interoperability suffers. In this paper, we propose the fundamental abstractions of Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, and Societies (5S), which contribute to define digital libraries rigorously and usefully. Streams are sequences of abstract items used to describe static and dynamic content. Structures can be defined as labeled directed graphs, which impose organization. Spaces are sets of abstract items and operations on those sets that obey certain rules. Scenarios consist of sequences of events or actions that modify states of a computation in order to accomplish a functional requirement. Societies comprehend entities and the relationships between and among them. Together these abstractions relate and unify concepts, among others, of digital objects, metadata, collections, and services required to formalize and elucidate “digital libraries”. The applicability, versatility and unifying power of the theory is demonstrated through its use in three distinct applications: building and interpretation of a DL taxonomy, analysis of case studies of digital libraries, and utilization as a formal basis for a DL description language.application/postscriptenIn CopyrightInformation retrievalTechnical reportTR-01-12http://eprints.cs.vt.edu/archive/00000536/01/5s5.ps