This paper begins with some general remarks about the indexing of electronic publications. Characteristics of today's information world are highlighted, including decentralization, distributed data collections, and heterogeneous data structures and indexing procedures. Three possible models for managing access to information are summarized: a…

Describes VISION (Video Indexing for Searching over Networks), a digital video prototype developed at the University of Kansas to demonstrate the technology necessary for an online digital video library. Highlights include content-based search and retrieval of video over computer networks; full-text information retrieval; and future plans.…

Client/server computing and the adoption of the World Wide Web make it possible for academic libraries to build automated library systems that present locally mounted and remote resources through a common interface. This article recounts issues encountered by the Iowa State University Library as it undertook this process. (Author/LRW)

Describes the use of distance learning for a lesser-taught foreign language course at the University of California at Berkeley that was sent to two other campuses and lowered the per-pupil cost. The use of videoconferencing, electronic mail, and a World Wide Web home page are explained, and problems are discussed. (LRW)

A discussion with the staff of the Internet Public Library (IPL), which began as a project at the University of Michigan, highlights its role in supplementing local public library services; classification; collection development policies; and the impact of legislation, copyright, and universal service on IPL. A sidebar presents IPL user…

The transition to a digital environment offers new opportunities for cooperative collection development but raises questions about models based on a print environment. Examines assumptions related to cooperative collection development and resource sharing, discusses directions future cooperation in information resources might take, and suggests…

Distance learning networks make training and advanced education possible when time and budgetary constraints make face-to-face training difficult. To make distance learning work, instructors and providers must harness the potential of synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies to create powerful, learner-centered networks. Support…

Examines access problems that occur when the citations from indexes for articles in series differ from the way the items are cataloged. A search was conducted in the online catalogs of various libraries and a comparison made between the bibliographic entries found to citations both in electronic indexes and in authors' references. (AEF)

Discusses detailed classification systems, sophisticated alphabetical indexing systems and reasons for the abandonment of complex indexing systems. The suggested structure for indexing the Internet or other large electronic collections of documents is based on that of book indexes: specific headings with coined modifications. (Author/AEF)

Describes various projects being undertaken by academic libraries to provide information in digital form. Highlights include the Library of Congress's program; access via the Internet; software programs; cooperative library projects; possibilities of financial support from the private sector; technical problems; and copyright issues. (LRW)

Describes the IMPEL (Impact on People of Electronic Libraries) project that investigated the social, organizational, and cultural impacts of the increasingly electronic environment experienced in academic library and information services in the United Kingdom. Topics include librarians' perceptions of their role and future role; subject…

Describes changes in the undergraduate library at the University of Washington that resulted in combining the reference and computer support desks into one service desk. Discusses benefits and drawbacks to the new service and considers training, communication, the librarians' changing work environment, and expanded services. (Author/LRW)

Describes DocML, a Web-based digital library of university data that is used to build a system capable of preserving and managing student assignments. Topics include requirements for a digital library of university data; metadata and XML; three-tier architecture; user interface; searching; browsing; content delivery; and administrative issues.…

Describes scientific collaboratories as environments where researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, and accessing information in digital libraries. Focuses on an evaluation study that compared undergraduates working…

This report analyzes data gathered from 29 automated library system vendors who responded to a 1996 survey. The survey also requested their perceptions of Java (an object-oriented programming language) and network computers, and issues and trends to be considered by library administrators. Contact information about the vendors is provided. (Four…