Discusses the challenges facing digital library evaluation and suggests a conceptual framework for evaluation derived from the systems approach. A review of evaluation efforts in research and practice concentrates on derivation of criteria used in evaluation. Essential requirements for evaluation are stated. Discussed are constructs, context, and…

Discusses issues facing research libraries relating to information technology and access to information. Considers the proliferation of digital information; the reliability of digital information; traditional library roles in the support of scholarship and research; future issues; and current projects relating to digital information. (LRW)

Presents an organizational model for providing digital reference services to all users who access the library remotely that was developed for distance learners at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities library. Describes the planning and implementation process, and discusses organizational change issues and the value of digital reference services…

Discussion of library digital reference services focuses on the features of instant messaging reference systems and the in-house development of a system that incorporates them at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Summarizes and evaluates library chat system features and compares commercial software that is available. (Author/LRW)

Describes an experiment where local as well as remote distributed information resources of the digital library collections of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Ghent library have been used as starting points for metadata reference links into other parts of the collections. Discusses global and local relevance. (LRW)

Discusses the need for semantic research in digital libraries to help overcome interoperability problems. Highlights include federal initiatives; semantic analysis; knowledge representations; human-computer interactions and information visualization; and the University of Illinois DLI (Digital Libraries Initiative) project through partnership with…

Examines the changes that are affecting academic library collection development. Highlights include computer technology; digital information; networking; virtual reality; hypertext; fair use and copyrights; technological infrastructure; digital libraries; information policy; academic and scholarly publishing; and experiences at the Johns Hopkins…

Discusses the National Science Foundation (NSF)/United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)/National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) Research in Digital Libraries Initiative (DLI). Highlights include benefits of digital libraries; the Federal High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCC); and program…

Discusses the stages of transformation that occurred in AT&T's information services and how end-users participated in the process. Topics include moving from traditional to electronic services; users' needs and expectations; library staff; vendor partnerships for outsourced services; and evaluating service quality. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the growth in electronic learning for distance education in higher education and considers the impact on librarians. Topics include developing new services; serving traditional students as well as remote users; reaching faculty; Web-based resources; community college programs; and upgrading infrastructure. (LRW)

The Temasek Polytechnic Library in Singapore launched its new digital library portal in December 2002. Circumstances precluded usability testing prior to this so it was with some concern that the library web team monitored its use. A few months later it became clear the users were having problems, so a new website was designed. This article deals…

This pilot study examined middle school and high school student performance on an online historical thinking assessment task. After their teachers received training in the use of digital historical archives, students from all groups engaged in historical thinking behaviors (e.g., observation, sourcing, inferencing, evidence, question-posing, and…

State-funded informational databases are a boon to students, teachers, and teacher-librarians, but as states struggle with budgets, funding for these resources is endangered survey results on the status of databases in all fifty states along with suggestions for keeping the databases or dealing with their absence follow. Today's students and…

Most librarians think literacy is an important goal, but Loriene Roy, an Anishinabe (Ojibwe) enrolled on the White Earth Reservation, knows it's a harder sell among America's two million Native Americans, who associate it with a history of forced assimilation and attempts to eliminate their language and culture. Considering most tribal schools…

The challenges we face in the e-content environment are significant, and errors are costly. Our ability to divine the future is limited, but the prognostication diamond can help. We must examine not only those changes at the center of the diamond--that is, within higher education--but also those changes at the four connecting points of the…