General-purpose digital library content laboratory systems

In this work, we name Digital Library Content Laboratories (DLCLs) software systems specially devised for aggregating and elaborating over information objects - e.g., publications, experimental data, multimedia and compound objects - collected from possibly heterogeneous and autonomous data sources. We present a general-purpose and cost-efficient system for the construction of customized DLCLs, based on the D-NET Software Toolkit. D-NET offers a service-oriented framework, where developers can choose the set of services they need, customize them to match domain requirements, and combine them in a "LEGO fashion" to obtain a personalized DLCL. D-NET is currently the enabling software of several DLCLs, operated by European Commission projects and national initiatives.