Most institutions of higher education have a mission that specifically addresses three areas: instruction, research, and service. The repertoire of activities and the complexity of the goals of the University Library mirror the goals of the institution, the academic units, and the faculty. The clients of the library are the students, the faculty,…

Three papers are compiled here for research library directors: (1) "Background: Open Systems Interconnection," in which David F. Bishop provides fundamental background information to explain the concept of the emerging technology of linked systems and open systems interconnection--i.e., an agreed upon standard set of conventions or rules…

The issue of ownership of intellectual property is central to scholarly communication of expressed ideas. Our knowledge property arrangements are key to success in the competitive global markets of the 1990s. There is concern that recent social, technological, and economic changes in the scholarly communication system are affecting the balance…

The rapid adoption of information technology and ubiquitous networking has transformed the research and education landscape. Central to this transformation are scientific and engineering digital data collections. The life cycle management challenges associated with these intellectual assets are substantial. This is a report of a two-day workshop…