For Americans to engage in a global information society, it is critical that they have access to high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet, meaning broadband. Network connectivity opens up a wealth of possibilities to K-12 educators. While it has the potential to result in fundamental changes in teaching methods, it can definitely be used to enhance…

The provision of public Internet access and related networked services by public libraries is affected by a number of information policy issues. This article analyzes the policy dimensions of Internet connectivity in public libraries in light of the data and findings from a national survey of public libraries conducted by the authors of this…

This paper compares and contrasts the Internet with other fundamental educational infrastructures throughout history by assessing the affordances and constraints of that medium along with those of oral tradition and print literacy. Highlights include affordances and constraints of the Internet; literacy and the development of education in the…

Discusses the potential for linking large metropolitan public libraries to international interlibrary loan networks. Issues involved in international networking, including funding, standards, network connectivity, and protectionism, are discussed. Examples of libraries capable of participating and brief descriptions of their collections are given.…

Argues that training is a critical success factor for Internet implementation in organizations, both in teaching Internet skills and in enabling trainees to participate in planning how the Internet could transform the organization. Conceptual areas relevant to the development of training and the associated theoretical perspectives are suggested.…

Analyzes information technology used in networks and cooperative systems to access primary documents and its impact on the information industry. The concordance between old and new technologies in traditional and virtual libraries is considered. Discussion includes the resulting paradoxes, such as more people accessing relatively smaller…

The authors envisage a new future for libraries, one in which they assume a very proactive role, pushing, as well as pulling information back into the Web, in a manner similar to that in which a private electricity producer feeds back surplus power into the grid as well as taking electricity when needed. (Author)

Questions the wisdom of permitting visions of the electronic library to drive budgets and strategic planning. Social and economic realities limiting user access to information, new roles for librarians, and models that guide management of information resources and services by real librarians for real users are discussed. A proposed action agenda…

The growing importance of computer networking as a medium for communication and knowledge transfer suggested that the New York State Library needed a process to guide development in this emerging field. A planning process engaged more than 100 librarians and library staff, state officials, print and electronic publishers, clients, and information…

This report summarizes the results of an open forum conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) that provided an opportunity for representatives from library and service organizations and representatives from related agencies to offer comments, suggestions, and proposals related to the roles of libraries and…

Policymakers and library administrators are being drawn to the idea of the "virtual library" and the "library without walls," the webs of electronic resources that supposedly will displace books, physical libraries, and most library staff, and are believing the virtual library to be imminent, adequate, and cost-effective. This…

Information technology is having a profound effect on higher education in North America, and Brandon University in Manitoba (Canada) is in a position to join this movement in its early stages. The case for integrating information technology into the curriculum is argued, and the potential role of the new library complex in the teaching function is…

Libraries have long been pivotal community institutions--public spaces where people can come together to learn, reflect, and interact. Today, information is rapidly spreading beyond books and journals to digital government archives, business databases, electronic sound and image collections, and the flow of electronic impulses over computer…

Libraries offer a variety of services and play an assortment of roles. While few people disagree that libraries have been valuable institutions in the past, many wonder how necessary they will be in the future. Shrinking budgets make it harder for libraries to contradict these perceptions. This report examines the social and economic impact that…

This report contains summaries of papers presented at the annual forum of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) of the Library of Congress. Introductory and special remarks were delivered by FLICC Executive Director Mary Berghaus Levering, Associate Librarian for Constituent Services of the Library of Congress Donald C.…