In the very near future, students are likely to expect their universities to provide seamless access to e-books through online library catalogues and virtual learning environments. A paradigm change in terms of the format of books, and especially textbooks, which could have far-reaching impact, is on the horizon. Based on interviews with a number…

MedEdPORTAL is an online publication service provided at no charge by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The intent is to promote collaboration and educational scholarship by helping educators publish and share educational resources. With MedEdPORTAL, users can quickly locate high-quality, peer-reviewed teaching materials in both…

In the past 5 years, each state in the Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina) developed virtual libraries that provide citizens access to licensed databases. This guide describes each state's offerings including the methods of access, resources, and…

For the purposes of this digest, productivity is defined as ways in which library and information services can assist agencies, industries, and individuals in producing goods and services effectively and profitably. Two fundamental issues that affect productivity are access and control; two major strategies for improving productivity are…

The Southern University (Louisiana) Agricultural and Mechanical College library addressed the growing demand on its reserve collections with an Electronic Reserve Library, a World Wide Web-based system designed to convert the collection's printed material to readable electronic form. Faculty and students have benefitted from and responded…

Examines the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) which provides access to the state's public library resources; federal, state, and regional information resources; and other electronic information resources. Describes OPLIN's role in Ohio, hardware and services provided, mission, origin, funding, staff training, databases, future plans…

Access to online public access library catalogs and similar information networks by scholars in the humanities is discussed. Tools and approaches available for scholars to navigate the systems, their utility and contribution to "location independence" in information seeking, and the evolving relationship between libraries and their…

This guide addresses the needs of those teachers from the literacy field who are just beginning to explore the Internet as an exciting medium to enhance learning. Chapters 1-3, "Internet Basics," offer a brief introduction to what the Internet is (e-mail, mailing lists, newsgroups, File Transfer Protocol, World Wide Web), how to get…

Outlines 10 basic principles for managing intellectual property in a digital environment. Expands upon each principle and provides specific examples of how and where these principles might be applied. Briefly discusses the history of electronic documentation, recent changes, and how these impact on the world of scholarly communication. (MJP)

This book assesses progress and technical changes in the field of serials management and anticipates future directions and challenges for librarians. The book consists of 18 chapters: (1) "Introduction" (Jim Cole and James W. Williams); (2) "Peter Gellatly--Editor with a Deft Touch" (Ruth C. Carter); (3) "The "Deseret…

Curriculum Materials Centers (CMCs), resource centers that support teacher education programs, are facing many challenges, including maintaining funding, meeting increased expectations, and coping with changes in technology. This volume covers a wide range of management issues from the perspective of 18 librarians, including practical advice on…

This study used focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires to collect input for developing the Mann Library Gateway at Cornell University. This Web-based information system provides access to catalogs, indexes, directories, numeric datasets, full-text documents, and spatial files. Concluded that scholars would benefit from…

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…

This book addresses many of the practical issues involved in developing the virtual library. Seven presentations from the Eighth Annual Computers in Libraries Conference are included in this book in augmented form. The papers are supplemented by "The Evolving Virtual Library: An Overview" (Laverna M. Saunders and Maurice Mitchell), a…

This book shows librarians the strengths and weaknesses of electronic resources and the implications these resources have on collection management. It helps librarians incorporate electronic resources into their collections. The book examines the history of electronic resources in document collections and analyzes the gains and losses libraries…