In order for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and depository libraries to assume their new role in the electronic environment, librarians need to examine their current technology, deal with political realities, and be critical of FDLP ideals. The FDLP needs to be reorganized into a new system of information centers to provide the best…

Describes JSTOR, a non-profit organization that creates, maintains, and provides online access to important scholarly journals. States that the JSTOR archive contains the complete back-runs of 169 journals and is available at more than 1,100 libraries across the world. (NB)

Describes the Electronic Dissemination of Information database operated by Martin Marietta Data Systems, under contract to the Department of Agriculture, to illustrate the issues and problems librarians face in trying to provide access to government information in electronic formats, and to discuss the role of public and private sectors in…

Major trends and features of scholarly and scientific communications in the recent past and present are examined from the viewpoints of publishers, readers, and libraries. Nine attributes of scholarly and scientific communications in the future, including the roles of information scientists, are predicted. (MSE)

Describes the Gopher system developed at the University of Minnesota for accessing information on the Internet. Highlights include the need for navigation tools; Gopher clients; FTP (File Transfer Protocol); campuswide information systems; navigational enhancements; privacy and security issues; electronic publishing; multimedia; and future…

Discusses the impact of information technology and networking on higher education with particular reference to academic libraries, based on experiences in Australia and New Zealand. Highlights include technology and learning; open learning and the virtual campus; network infrastructure; database access; electronic publishing; information…

Discusses the librarian's role in bringing about an equilibrium between private and public information interests that serves both information owners and the public, and comments on copyright law, libraries as managers of copyrighted property, access versus ownership, the library advantage in document delivery, the value of copyright, and creating…

Provides guidance for turning the library media center into a place where students can use multimedia tools for research, authoring, and publishing. Sidebars include: a multimedia club sample student contract, a component list for a multimedia workstation starter kit, a checklist for planning and assembling mini-centers, and a sample multimedia…

The trend in the 1980s to provide an increasingly larger amounts of government information in electronic formats has led to concerns regarding the inclusion of electronic items in the depository library program (DLP). Inclusion of electronic formats in the DLP provides increased public access but also poses technical problems for the depository…

Suggests that current trends in public library expenditures and buildings are not meeting user needs and criticizes the American Library Association's policy statement, "The Decade of the Librarian," for focusing on librarians rather than service. The future of libraries and the library profession, particularly the impact of electronic…

Discussion of the use of standards by archivists highlights the U.S. MARC AMC (Archives-Manuscript Control) format for reporting archival records and manuscripts; their interest in specific standards being developed for the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model; and the management of records in electronic formats. (16 references) (LAE)

Discusses current technology for electronic publishing, including various options in desktop-based, television-based, and portable platforms, and describes the capabilities of CD-I (compact disk-interactive). Future directions for electronic publishing in the areas of networking, potential for creativity in producing multimedia versions of titles,…

Discusses the current and future status of printed books in light of rapidly progressing technology. Topics discussed include the digital electronic medium (DEM); electronic books and the electronic library; the decline of libraries and books; databases; reactive media, including television and video; interactive multimedia, including…

Considers comparative prices for bibliographic data on CD-ROM and in print. Topics addressed include differences in the nature of bibliographic data in the two media, the relative complexities of pricing structure, varying policies on network pricing, and standardization of the licensing arrangement. (KRN)

Considers electronic online access to newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Legal factors discussed include license agreements and copyright; financial factors include royalties, pricing, and publisher priorities; and technological factors include keyed versus electronic copy, electronic delivery, graphics, telecommunications, and image-based…