This abstract describes a session that planned to feature participants of the International OAI (Open Archives Initiative) forums, discussing digital libraries and their role in knowledge dissemination and creation, global strategies for interoperability, author self-archiving issues, empowering users, and technology and user processes. (LRW)

Describes the evolving information technologies employed at the Digital Library Initiative (DLI-I) Testbed of full-text journal articles at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Examines how XML, XSLT, and CSS can be used in a digital library application and discusses document representation and transmission, metadata schema, and…

Discusses approaches to reference services in academic libraries in light of new technologies and emphasizes the need to maintain the personal element, based on experiences at Northeastern State University (Oklahoma). Topics include roving librarians; desktop video conferencing; Internet media and the World Wide Web; and remote users. (LRW)

Examines the practical details of setting up live online reference services in libraries. Topics include choosing software; differences between licensed and hosted applications; models used to implement virtual reference services; how libraries are using these services in day to day operations; and marketing strategies. (Author/LRW)

Many libraries are expending an increasing part of their collections budgets on electronic resources. At the same time many libraries, especially those which are state funded, face diminishing budgets and high rates of inflation for serials subscriptions in all formats, including electronic resources. Therefore, many libraries need to develop ways…

In this column, the author describes three very experimental visual display technologies that will affect library collections and services in the near future. While each of these new display strategies is unique in its technological approach, there is a common denominator to all three: better freedom of mobility that will allow people to interact…

In the last year the anger and frustration simmering in libraries for a decade or more over the growing dysfunction of the scholarly communications system found a voice, a cause, and a cadre of allies around the globe. This time, the voices that said, "No" to the Big Deals were those of faculty members and academic officers at some very…

This article describes the results of the 19th annual Computers in Libraries Conference in Washington, DC on March 10-12, 2004. The conference peered into the future, drew lessons from the past, and ran like clockwork. Program chair Jane Dysart and her organizing committee are by now old hands, bringing together three keynote addresses, 100…

This Helping You Buy survey is the next in an annual series of surveys that have been compiled by Pamela Cibbarelli in past years. This bird's-eye view should serve to both highlight some general distinctions and to underscore the commodified similarities of a wide range of library automation systems.

Technostress--the challenge of keeping up with changing technology--has been one of the few constants in professional lives for the past 30 or more years. In this paper, the author addresses what constitutes "best practices" for keeping up with rapidly changing technology.

With today's relatively flat budgets, research libraries are finding their buying power further diminished by the hyperinflationary costs of library materials. Yet technology innovation, coupled with organizational restructuring, is enabling libraries not only to provide more high-quality information services but also to achieve unparalleled…

An ideology of librarianship was created by Shiyali Ramamrita (SR) Ranganathan in his classic The Five Laws of Library Science (Bombay: Asia Pub. House, 1963). He formulated objectives and principles for the organization of, access to, and use of library materials. Given the changing information world, this is a good time to reconsider…

No other consumer electronic device has created such an impact on popular culture in recent years as the Apple iPod. Since iPod's release in November 2001, music fans have been able to carry upwards of 15,000 song files on those sleek devices with their trendy white headphones. Over ten million iPods have been sold--nearly half of them in the last…

In an attempt to make the Kansas City Public Library's Web site more user friendly, the Web team took an opportunity to completely redesign the site. This article describes the techniques that the team used to organize and design the new Web site. By adopting a guided approach to the Internet, they were able to streamline their Web links and…

In recent years, security issues have increasingly come to dominate the technological development process--although still in a more reactive than proactive mode. It now seems more important than ever to monitor security trends and policy developments, especially if technology is regarded as a potential community builder. This article suggests…