Digital libraries continue to flourish. At the same time, the principles of user-centered design and the practice of usability testing have been growing in popularity, spreading their influence into the library sphere. This article explores the confluence of these two trends by surveying the current literature on usability studies of digital…

This article explores the historical foundations of the South Carolina Digital Library, a collaborative statewide program that ties together academic special collections and archives, public libraries, state government archives, and other cultural resource institutions in an effort to provide the state with a comprehensive database of online…

This article provides an overview of some of the main areas surrounding the broad topic of "Digital Libraries". This includes the advantages and costs of digitisation; the traditional and digital library; the library community and digitisation; and an examination of various digital library projects. It is not exhaustive, but hopefully, it provides…

We report about internet-based resource tools that compile the available evidence and knowledge base for designing and evaluating theory-based prevention interventions. Their relevance is discussed with a view to a recently noticeable climate of uncertainty about the effectiveness of prevention work.

The author does not know the first thing about building digital repositories. Maybe that is a strange thing to say, given that he works in a repository development group now, worked on the original DSpace project years ago, and worked on a few repository research projects in between. Given how long he has been around people and projects aiming to…

This study examines the differences in undergraduate library use by academic discipline at Oregon State University (OSU). In the winter of 2006, an online questionnaire about physical and virtual library use was distributed to 3,227 OSU undergraduates; 949 responses were received. Chi-square tests were used to distinguish differences between user…

Highlights the relevance and application of descriptive cataloging traditions to Internet resources. Topics include an analysis of the networked electronic environment by the Coalition for Networked Information based in Washington, D.C.; surrogates or metadata; and the OCLC Internet Cataloging Project that uses MARC format and Anglo American…

Discusses the development of regionally organized electronic library services within the United Kingdom's National Health Service, Examines evidence for the effectiveness of electronic library services and considers the interdependence of electronic and conventional library services. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of the evaluation of digital libraries suggests a conceptual framework for evaluation. Reviews evaluation efforts in research and practice; examines the derivation of criteria used in evaluation; states the essential requirements for evaluation; and discuses constructs, context, and criteria of digital libraries. (Contains 20…

Examines the dynamics of shared responsibility for learning in the provision of graduate education for the library and information sector, as realized through a strategic collaboration between the State Library of New South Wales and the University of Technology, Sydney. Discusses professional information work and virtual libraries. (Author/LRW)

The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, part of the Library of Congress, historically has been the major supplier of recreational talking books for U.S. citizens with print impairments. It has announced that its digital talking book program will begin in late 2008. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind…

Highlights the Bioscience Education Network (BEN), an educational resource collection for the biological sciences which is part of the larger National Science Digital Library. (Author/NB)

As librarians confront the Information Age, it is imperative that they remain aware of the issues that affect the profession. Traditional library skills are no longer adequate for maintaining a competitive edge in the field. Post-graduate education in digital libraries offers information professionals an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of…

Purpose: To consider the findings of a recent e-resources survey at the University of Exeter Library in the context of the dominance of web search engines in academia, balanced by the development of e-library tools such as the library OPAC, OpenURL resolvers, metasearch engines, LDAP and proxy servers, and electronic resource management modules.…

Purpose: This paper aims to present findings from a survey that aimed to identify the issues around the use and linkage of source and output repositories and the chemistry researchers' expectations about their use. Design/methodology/approach: This survey was performed by means of an online questionnaire and structured interviews with academic and…