Ten scholarly papers and twelve abstracts comprise the content of the twenty-first annual Brick & Click Libraries Conference, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The twenty-first Brick & Click Libraries Conference was held virtually. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at…

This article discusses a project undertaken to assess the journals in a Big Deal package by applying a weighted value algorithm measuring quality, utility, and value of individual titles. Carried out by a national library consortium in Canada, the project confirmed the value of the Big Deal package while providing a quantitative approach for…

This proposal for a technical session presentation focused on socially-grounded approaches to understanding digital libraries; the social nature of digital libraries; and implications for the design and evaluation of digital libraries. Panelists included: Christine L. Borgman, Laura Neumann, Nancy Van House and Ann P. Bishop. (LRW)

Describes the social construction of technology (SCOT) framework which encourages a focus on the multiple perspectives inherent in the development and evaluation of digital libraries. Relevant social groups, interpretive flexibility, and closure are used to examine an evaluation case study of the "Making of America" (MOA) digital library…

Discusses the challenges facing digital library evaluation and suggests a conceptual framework for evaluation derived from the systems approach. A review of evaluation efforts in research and practice concentrates on derivation of criteria used in evaluation. Essential requirements for evaluation are stated. Discussed are constructs, context, and…

Describes a study conducted at Eastern Illinois University's library that examined nine full-text databases to determine the content and subject coverage of each database. Discusses implications for collection development, including policies for the evaluation of electronic resources; and the need for dialog between librarians and vendors. (LRW)

Considers trends and influences that affect the relationship between libraries and vendors. Topics discussed include information in electronic formats; selection criteria; economic factors and library budgets; resource sharing and cooperative collection development; sociological changes; preservation activities; and the evaluation of dealers. (six…

Includes six articles that discuss a digital library for astronomy; comparing evaluations of digital collection efforts; cross-organizational access management of Web-based resources; searching scientific bibliographic databases based on content-based relations between documents; semantics-sensitive retrieval for digital picture libraries; and…

This bibliography for materials helpful to librarians includes works relating to administration and personnel; bibliographic instruction; information literacy; cataloging and classification; children's and adolescent services and materials; collection development; copyright; distance education; electronic libraries; evaluation; fund raising;…