This article is a case study of the Virtual Business Information Center (VBIC), a collaborative effort since 1998 of the College of Information Studies, Robert H. Smith School of Business, and the University of Maryland Libraries. The case study traces its development, implementation, and evaluation and addresses collaboration among academic…

Twenty-one scholarly papers and fifteen abstracts comprise the content of the tenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The peer-reviewed proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of…

Digital repositories can help Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop coherent and coordinated approaches to capture, identify, store and retrieve intellectual assets such as datasets, course material and research papers. With the advances of technology, an increasing number of Higher Education Institutions are implementing digital…

The Anchorage, Alaska, School District is dealing with the problem of teaching students about the "information age" through a unique program in their central library system. It was one of the first school districts in the nation to computerize its library and to provide access to computer databases to the students through telephones as…

Addresses the question of whether interest in downloading into local electronic libraries is a reflection of user needs or is being generated by those who have something to sell. Growth of online services, growth of local computer capacity, purposes of a local electronic library, and sources of data are highlighted. (EJS)

This report provides an overview of knowledge organization systems (KOSs) and includes pertinent examples of their application to digital materials, offering extensive practical information for institutions embarking on digital library initiatives. The first section of the report defines the general characteristics of KOSs, with emphasis on their…

This paper on public libraries in Thailand begins with a section that provides background on public libraries in the past, lists the functions of the public library, and describes three size classifications of public libraries. The second section outlines the tasks of the current public library in three areas: informal education; nonformal…

Digital materials are vulnerable to a number of different kinds of failures, including decay of the digital media, loss due to hackers and viruses, accidental deletions, natural disasters, and bankruptcy of the institution holding the collection. Digital archives can best survive failures if they have made several copies of their collections at…

The Handle System is a distributed computer system that stores names, or handles, of digital items and can quickly resolve those names into the information necessary to locate and access the items. It was designed by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives as a general purpose global system for the reliable management of information on…

Discusses database interfaces and explains that collaboration is an important aspect of searching online information retrieval systems that requires explicit computerized support. Collaboration in physical and in digital libraries is discussed and an example of a system that supports collaboration between browsers, ARIADNE, is described. (105…

Discusses computer user authentication and authorization issues when libraries need to let valid users access databases and information services without making the process too difficult for either party. Common solutions are explained, including filtering, passwords, and kerberos (cryptographic authentication scheme for secure use over public…

Describes research aimed at providing educational organizations with practical strategies for implementing electronic learning (e-learning), based on focus group discussions at an elementary school in Taiwan. Considers the strategic role of digital libraries in electronic learning environments, library collections, digital technology, human…

Describes the Indonesian Digital Library Network that is designed to develop Indonesia as a knowledge-based society. Highlights include the digital divide; problems in a developing country, including Internet accessibility, bandwidth capacity, and network delays; gathering information about national assets; information infrastructure; data…

Discusses the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the digital divide in India. Considers the impact of information technologies, including the Internet and the Web, on the life and work of people; digital determinism; library and information infrastructure and superstructure; digital library initiatives; and the need…

Describes how online "institutional repositories" could hold all of a scholar's output, potentially challenging the role of journals. (EV)