21-year-old Aaron Swartz is attempting to turn the library world upside down. He is taking on the subscription-based WorldCat, the largest bibliographic database on the planet, by building a free online book catalog that anyone can update. Many academic librarians are wary of Mr. Swartz's project because it will allow nonlibrarians, who may be…

Spokesmen for libraries and scientific organizations condemned efforts by the Department of Defense to restrict access to unclassified information in electronic databases. The plan would limit access to a new category of "sensitive but unclassified" information. (MLW)

The Reagan Administration rescinded part of a policy aimed at controlling access to unclassified, nongovernment databases. The policy would have extended military-security procedures to civilian government databases, as well as to private ones that contain government information. (MLW)

The digitization of over a million journal pages dating back to 1886, and access via the World Wide Web, intended originally to free shelf space, is seen by some scholars as changing the nature of scholarship. It will also significantly improve access from smaller institutions with limited collections. (MSE)

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This January 30, 2004 issue of "Chronicle for Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Fighting to Get out of a Rio Slum" (Lloyd, Marion); (2) "Against…