In April 2000, the Digital Library Federation commissioned three reports to address broader concerns about digital collections in research libraries. This report synthesizes the nearly 10 years' experience that libraries have had digitizing items from their rare, special, and general collections, and making them available online. The report…

This report examines the experiences and contributions of the archival community--practicing archivists, manuscript curators, archival academics, and policy makers who work to define and promote the social utility of records and to identify, preserve, and provide access to documentary heritage regardless of format. The report addresses how the…

This paper provides a brief survey of Australian newspaper publishing history and describes the National Library's Australian newspaper holdings. Its newspaper collection policy and some of the national issues and initiatives being undertaken to ensure access to and preservation of Australian newspapers are outlined. Highlights include: retention…

Defines and describes three roles of library collections: archival, dispensing, and bibliographic. It is argued that the rise of remotely accessible materials makes possession less important relative to access, has implications for all three roles, and indicates a shift in emphasis away from collection development and conventional catalogs and…

Provides information to help historical organizations, archives, and libraries organize, evaluate, and preserve photographic records. Discusses the identification and dating of photographic processes, motion picture film, videotape, and enclosures; reviews storage environments, collection policies, appraisal and access issues; and presents a list…

The National Film Registry, which is primarily a designated list of films to be preserved by the Library of Congress, is also a valuable tool for selecting "films that are culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant." Following a brief discussion of the history and selection process of the National Film Registry, Southeast…

As costs of subscriptions to scholarly journals rise, libraries struggle to house their collections. Journal Storage (JSTOR) is building a reliable and comprehensive archive of important literature, filling the gaps in existing collections of backfiles, fostering preservation, increasing access, finding ways to reduce storage and care costs, and…

Discussion of preservation of and access to information and knowledge focuses on selection decisions that libraries make. Topics addressed include a decrease in funding; collection development; preservation processes, including reformatting into digital data; private collections; unpurchased current publications; new electronic technologies;…

Compares current approaches to decisions involving the preservation of library materials and describes a national project aimed at identifying and preserving important classical studies on microfiche. The use of an editorial board of scholars in this decision making process is evaluated and alternative scholarly involvement models are suggested.…

Describes a survey of libraries listed in several special collections directories to determine how educational and psychological tests were organized and managed. Discusses access through cataloging or classification; management practices such as staffing, hours of availability, security, and preservation methods; and a copy of the survey is…

The Church and Synagogue Library Association is a nonprofit association that provides educational guidance in establishing and maintaining congregational library service. This guide for congregational libraries is a detailed manual of instruction for the establishment, reorganization, and use of archives in a congregation. It is geared especially…

This paper describes some basic architectural choices for the access to and preservation of digital objects at the National Library of Norway. A digital repository is a core element for the handling of both access to and preservation of the digital objects. Strategies for giving access to the complete holdings include the use of a powerful search…

Examines the literature from 1981-90 concerning information technologies for the humanities. Topics discussed include the humanist's relationship to technology; information seeking behavior; information use; preservation of materials; collection management; access to information; and examples of computing applications in archaeology, Biblical and…

Congress established the Strengthening Research Library Resources Program through Title II-C of the 1976 Education Amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote research and education throughout the United States by financially assisting major research libraries. Since 1978, nearly $70 million in grants have been distributed to U.S.…

Develops a comprehensive, unified, explanatory theory of librarianship by first making an analogy to the unification of the fundamental forces of nature. Topics include dependent and independent variables; publishing; acquisitions; classification and organization of knowledge; storage, preservation, and collection management; collections; and…