This article is a case study of the Virtual Business Information Center (VBIC), a collaborative effort since 1998 of the College of Information Studies, Robert H. Smith School of Business, and the University of Maryland Libraries. The case study traces its development, implementation, and evaluation and addresses collaboration among academic…

In this article, the authors discuss ways one can create a digital library on a shoestring despite the current high technology costs. Here, they describe the University of South Carolina's digital library development. The cost associated with building and maintaining the digital collections seems to have been worth it based on the feedback that…

Purpose: To describe how an institutional repository (IR) was set up, using open source software, at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur. Members of the IIT can publish their research documents in the IR for online access as well as digital preservation. Material in this IR includes instructional materials, records, data sets,…

This article discusses how, in the new world of the information age, libraries must seek to bring relevant services to their technically savvy patrons. This includes designing a library that can serve not only the geographic community, but also the virtual online community. Software used to create online communities is known as social software and…

When parents help kids with their homework or get involved in an assignment, they're doing more than showing an interest in their children's education--they're helping them succeed. And since everyone knows that well-equipped school libraries make a huge difference in student achievement, there's a real need to make parents aware of the media…

The author of this article suggests that to refresh Web pages and online library catalogs in a more pleasing way, Ajax, an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, should be used. Ajax is the way to use Web technologies that work together to refresh sections of Web pages to allow almost instant responses to user input. This article describes…

In this collection of papers presented at "The State of Digital Preservation: An International Perspective" conference (Washington, DC, April 24-25, 2002), leading experts from the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia describe current practices and challenges in digital preservation. Contents include: "Introduction: The…

This handbook provides information on how Internet search engines and related software and utilities work and how to use them in order to improve search techniques. The book begins with an introduction to the Internet. Part 1 contains the following chapters that cover mining the Internet for information: "An Introduction to Search…

Chapter 1, "Preliminary Issues," explores the historical importance of the electronic publishing revolution, some of the terminology to be used in the book, and the differences and similarities between traditional and electronic collection development. Chapter 2, "What Is an Offer? The Electronic Resources Landscape," covers…

This paper discusses library development in the changing environment arising within the forthcoming Information/Knowledge Society. The role of the library as a social institution is examined in the context of the evolution of the whole literary and knowledge system. Ideas about conceptual changes to be introduced by the library in order to respond…

Discussion of models for indexing and searching information resources on the Internet focuses on the results of a simple query on a number of existing search systems and on two proposed index metadata structures for indexing and supporting search and discovery: the Dublin Core Elements List and the Semantic Header. (52 references) (Author/LRW)

Presents a literature review that covers the following topics related to preservation of digital objects: practical examples; stakeholders; recordkeeping standards; genre-specific problems; trusted repository standards; preservation methods; preservation metadata standards; and future directions. (Contains 82 references.) (MES)

Includes five articles that discuss digital library programs related to the National Science Foundation; software for building Web portals; metadata developed at Tsinghua University Library (China) for preserving digital resources; the Open Archives Initiative for metadata and the need for a common infrastructure; and interactivity in a digital…

Describes the GREEN digital library, part of the NSF (National Science Foundation) NSDL (National Science Digital Library), as a collaboration of materials developed with government agencies, universities, and industry to build a collection of digital resources in the area of Green's functions, used for modeling mechanical and thermal responses of…

Details NASA's (National Aeronautics & Space Administration (USA)) involvement in defining and testing the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) and experience with adapting existing NASA distributed searching DLs (digital libraries) to use the OAI-PMH and metadata harvesting. Discusses some new digital…