Implementing any new service or technology can require a process of trial and error. Often, it is useful to introduce the service as a pilot project, so that the staffing issues and technical details can be worked out prior to fullscale implementation. This is especially important at times when staffing and/or budgetary circumstances are…

Purpose: Examines a project to integrate digital libraries and virtual learning environments (VLE) focusing on requirements for online reading list systems. Design/methodology/approach: Conducted a user needs analysis using interviews and focus groups and evaluated three reading or resource list management systems. Findings: Provides a technical…

Purpose: To help to clarify the role of XML tools and standards in supporting transition and migration towards a fully XML-based environment for managing access to information. Design/methodology/approach: The Ching Digital Image Library, built on a three-tier architecture, is used as a source of examples to illustrate a number of methods of data…

Reference services are in the midst of evolutionary changes. At a time when budgets are shrinking, traditional models of service and print reference formats are being questioned. This article discusses future directions of academic reference collections in terms of the apparent shift from print to electronic reference sources. Questions addressed…

This study examines the holdings of ARL libraries for core reference titles to see if there is a trend towards canceling the print in favor of electronic, and discusses the implications of duplication of titles in both formats. It also looks at the issue within the context of several areas of study including general reference, arts and humanities,…

One hundred fourteen academic libraries in the United States and Canada are surveyed for the organization of electronic resources within their home page and their cataloguing practice. The majority provide access to databases, electronic resources, subject guides, ready reference, and their own catalogue both on their home page and within their…

What is the state of intellectual freedom and libraries in the early twenty-first-century digital environment? This question is addressed largely in relation to public and school libraries, where more than 90 percent of documented challenges exist and at which most legislative and judicial actions relevant to intellectual freedom and libraries are…

Using videotaped lectures to practice American Sign Language (ASL) used to be a pretty tiresome process for hearing-impaired and other students at the University of Rochester (NY). In order to access the videos, students had to trek to the campus library, reserve an audio/visual station in the media center, take out the appropriate tape, and watch…

The need for an engaged, informed citizenry is central to the dream of democracy by Thomas Jefferson. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) places citizenship education "at the heart of social studies" and suggests that social studies teachers must prepare students to develop a "reasoned commitment to fundamental values, such as life,…

The authors report on the planning, execution, and future of Northwestern University's Introduction to Electronic Resources/Humanities Computing Training Day, a mandatory one-day set of classes for first-year doctoral students in humanities disciplines. The project is a collaborative effort among the Office of the Dean of the Weinberg College of…

A five-question survey randomly presented to users at Ohio State University (OSU) as they viewed articles in OhioLINK's Electronic Journal Center (EJC) in fall 2002 probed the user's status, academic unit, reason for viewing, path to the article, and frequency of EJC use. Usage by faculty and graduate students, by frequent users, and by those in…

Since its humble beginning, Digital Past, a centralized local history digitization initiative at the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), a multitype consortium in Wheeling, Illinois, has now grown into a large centralized collaboration that consists of 32 libraries and a museum as its primary contributors. With Digital Past, there are various…

This document presents an analytical bibliography of literature on the library of the future that was published between the years 1983 and 1994. This project had four objectives: (1) to identify and retrieve published literature on the library of the future; (2) to formulate document surrogates for this literature and add them to a computerized…

This paper reviews the background and key terminology of the Internet, its current scope and use, and a selection of public policy issues. "Chapter 1: What Is the Internet?" includes an overview; capsule history; explanation of how the Internet works; basic terminology; and the kinds of information available on the Internet.…

This document, like its predecessor, will serve as a blueprint for and a means of communication about statewide library automation. The original plan introduced the concept of the electronic doorway library as a way to explain the changes occurring in the delivery of library services. Through 14 assumptions, 32 recommendations, and implementation…