The main function of the library of the future is to provide access to electronic sources stored elsewhere. In order to comply with the users' needs, therefore, flexible license scenarios are necessary. Another future function of the library will be to set up and maintain a personal alerting system and to assist users in organizing their own…

Reviews developments related to standards in electronic and networked information. Discusses traditional library and Internet communities, and notes the importance of having a supporting infrastructure in place. Topics include: Z39.50; Z39.56 Serial Item/Contribution Identifier (SICI); Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Protocol; character set standards;…

Libraries should be active participants in knowledge production, and should develop classificatory structures that support the needs of a diverse information ecology consisting of a complex web of interacting agents, users, and technologies. Within such an information ecology, a classificatory structure cannot follow a one-size-fits-all paradigm,…

Lists values that should underpin librarians' work: stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, privacy, rationalism, commitment to literacy and learning, unfettered access to recorded knowledge and information, and democracy. Discusses how these values should be used to shape a vision of the future library, a "library as a place" that challenges…

Presents a background on the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) partnership with the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and notes its achievements. Discusses the CIC Center for Library Initiatives; leveraging investments in libraries; maximizing use of information resources; improving delivery of information/library services; the…

Purpose: To tell the story of a particular digitisation project with which the author has been closely involved, illustrating the problems and scope of the project and focusing especially on the issues relating to the selection of appropriate content. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based largely on personal involvement in the project…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine how technology presents both problems and opportunities for the historian, the researcher, small organisations, and cultural heritage institutions. Ways of safeguarding historical material in digital form are suggested, and the role of cultural heritage bodies as managers of sustainable digital collections is…

This article provides an introduction to the major information resources in the field of economics. The essay evaluates the major selection tools in the area of business and economics, as well as selected core reference titles. The article also includes suggestions for developing and evaluating economics collections, as well as a listing of online…

This construct for collection development as it relates to Native American resources utilizes Thomas Mann's "Library Research Methods" (1993) concepts of the Traditional Model, the Actual-Practice Model, and the Principle of Least Effort to organize recommendations for both strategies and resources. The three-pronged hierarchical approach to…

The conscientious selection of music materials requires an understanding of the needs of the public being served at least as much as it requires subject competence on the part of the selector. Online and print resources are available to aid in the selection of music materials in all formats, the most important of which are books, scores, audio and…

This book describes the issues that multitype library networks need to know in order to succeed in the new decade, including electronic information, restructuring, distance education, buying clubs and cooperatives, skilled workers, diversifying funding, collaboration, one-stop shopping, accountability, and extraordinary service. The book contains…

This paper describes the academic library environment in Finland, discussing increases in research funding that have not been directly evident in library budgets. It then describes the FinELib program, the National Electronic Library, which has a centralized approach to joint acquisition of electronic information resources. The key issues have…

Libraries are in a process of fundamental change brought about by radical changes in technology. This paper charts the changes that have taken place over the years and makes some assumptions as to how the future will look. Barriers to increased use of technology are analyzed and detailed, including: lack of uniformity in search systems; the…

This paper outlines the efforts of the United Kingdom (UK) Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to help UK higher education institutions deal with the growing diversity of information resources. These efforts are based on two strands: the Electronic Libraries Program and the development of the JISC collections. These strands are now coming…

Discusses the emergence of electronic text and examines the interrelationships between the evolving electronic environment and the library's collection, organizational structure, personnel, budget, and external relationships. A figure showing the convergence of complex science, management, and the electronic word is appended. (AEF)