Patricia Diamond Fletcher and John Carlo Bertot
World Libraries on the Information Superhighway:
Preparing for the Challenges of the New Millennium
Hershey, Penn.: Idea Group Publishing, 2000.
paper, 313 p., ISBN 1-878-28966-7, US$74.95
Idea Group: http://www.idea-group.com

The idea, revived in recent news reports, that books could soon be a thing of the past, usurped by electronic publishing, is an indication of one of the challenges facing libraries in the new millennium. Their role as custodian of books is expanding rapidly in order to embrace the disparate products of the digital age. Consequently, it is necessary to face up to the technical difficulties in capturing and preserving documents published in electronic format in an environment where software and hardware standards are rapidly evolving, as well as the practical difficulties in identifying material which is worthy of preservation.

Another threat to the traditional role of libraries, "that they should take responsibility for collecting, recording, providing access to and preserving their own national imprint" (Cameron & Philips: 6) is the difficulty in dealing with the sheer volume of published material. There was an outcry recently when it was reported that the British Library had been discarding books - some of which were known to be the last extant copy of particular works - due to pressure of space. Although storing information in electronic format avoids the major problem of providing adequate shelf space for physical artefacts, the explosion of electronic publishing has led some national libraries to take a selective approach, arguing that much of the material published on the Internet is not worthy of preservation. If such an approach is taken to material published electronically, it seems logical that books published in traditional format should also be subject to criteria of quality.

These are two of the highly topical issues covered in this collection of papers. The collection begins with an article by co-editor Patricia Diamond Fletcher on "Libraries and the Internet: Policy and Practice in the 21st Century", and ends with an overview by co-editor John Carlo Bertot which draws together the "Issues and Lessons Learned" from the various contributions. The variety of perspectives reflects what Fletcher (1), citing Wedgeworth (1998), calls "Understanding of the cultural similarities and differences which directly affect the service mission of libraries".

Each of the seventeen chapters is a self-contained article, with authors including librarians from Australia, the USA, Canada and Portugal, and academics from several countries including Korea, Malaysia and Estonia. Many of the articles report on specific projects, while others look more generally at trends, policies and strategies for the new millennium.

While the most urgent trend seems to be the expansion of the role of the library, "The main business of libraries - organizing and storing information and helping clients to use it - is being challenged" (Haigh: 27). It has been claimed that libraries are no longer necessary as information can be accessed so readily on the Internet. This collection demonstrates not only that libraries still have a role to play in the wired world, but that their role is a rapidly-developing one. They will help to bridge the "digital divide" by providing access to the Net.

They will also play a key role in describing and cataloguing online resources to facilitate access to relevant, accurate and reliable information for both academic researchers and the general public. As Fountain (88) puts it, "With the exponential growth of the Web, we need to change our focus from simply locating information to locating the most relevant information in an efficient and cost-effective manner". One approach to this is described in Wang et al., in their study of the system in use at Queen's Borough Public Library. "Just as an experienced librarian will recommend one book over another to a customer seeking information in the more traditional way, the library's Web site can point the user to a set of information" (150). Liebowitz & Adya (170) describe various methods of automating the process of cataloguing, including the use of expert systems and intelligent agents.

Their role will also encompass the preservation of digitally published information as part of each country's national archive, which will entail new approaches to the acquisition and storage as well as the cataloguing (Lee: 67). Moreover, the interface through which patrons access information must be easy enough to use so that patrons will not be deterred (Lee: 68, Fountain 90). In the context of the academic library, Schmidt et al., in their report on the University of Queensland Cybrary, state that "Through the Cybrary, students are able to navigate their way to new sources of information. Use of the journal collection has doubled..." (113). In order to ensure the ease of access to information, the library provides information skills training for the University's students.

As well as providing online materials, libraries are faced with the challenge of providing Internet access for those who have no other access. As more information becomes available online, possibly with a concomitant reduction in availability through traditional means, libraries will play an increasingly important role in ensuring equality of access. Indeed, the electronic library is likely to be the local access point to a range of government information resources and services, and so providing access for those socioeconomic groups who have no other means of access will be an essential part of the library's role in the community. Baigent & Moore (130) quote the (UK) Library and Information Commission as saying that "The networking of public libraries will place then at the forefront of the drive to create an educated, informed and ICT-literate society".

One new role for the networked library is to provide online services ranging from access to database to the provision of rare texts in digitized form.This provides new opportunities for libraries to share resources, and can also obviate the duplication of efforts; patrons will have access to materials from several libraries, so it will no longer be necessary for each one to maintain a similar core collection.

New methods of collaboration and cost-sharing are being developed to enhance the scope for cooperation between institutions. This also entails change in the organizational structures, particularly the development of fluid team-based structures to work on projects. Librarians will need to deploy a broad range of skills, particularly in information technology, which will demand retraining for the current generation, and radical changes to pre-service education together with on-going in-service training to keep pace with the rapid changes.

The envisaged expansion of library services will require adequate funding for technology and infrastructure. While the potential for networked collaboration can reduce the drain on resources, there is an urgent need to develop methods of accessing, navigating and indexing information in multimedia formats. Additionally, in their role as national archive, libraries must find ways to preserve the rapidly-changing digital material as a historical record. That involves finding not only hardware and software that will continue to be available or at least compatible with future systems, but also mark-up languages and document formats that will continue to be supported. The technical magnitude of such a task is compounded by the need to ensure the accuracy and authority of Internet-based resources.

There are also several policy issues to be resolved, such as copyright and ownership (Lee: 70). As Haigh (29) points out, "Libraries are not necessarily prepared to undertake costly digital preservation activities such as conversion and migration if they only, in effect, rent the resource".

In the final chapter, co-editor John Carlo Bertot provides an overview entitled "Libraries on the Information Highway: Issues and Lessons Learned". As he expresses it, "A key theme espoused throughout the chapters in this book is the need for libraries to reassess their roles, services and functions in light of the digital information age" (292). This wide-ranging collection provides a great deal of insight on both the technical aspects and the theoretical implications of the situation, as well as several case studies and research projects that provide indications for possible ways forward. 

References

Library and Information Commission, 1997. New Library: the people's network. London: Library and Information Commission, accessed 2 April 1999, at http://www.lic.gov.uk/publications/policyreports/newlibrary/index.html

Robert Wedgeworth, 1998. "A global perspective on the library and information agenda," American Libraries, volume 29, number 6, pp. 60-68.