Michigan Library's Digital Library Production Service-DLPS

A Library in Michigan has 2,000,000 pages of SGML, high resolution pages, and 2,000,000 material pages converted into digital media. They transfer collections into html and other formats and save them to disks to retrieve for any time use.

This article has a lot of great information regarding digital collections. Pros and cons are listed.

The web address is http://www.dlib.org.dlib/may97/michigan/05pricewilkin.html#information

E-books

Does your library offer the use of E-books? If so, what is the title of a current E-book you have downloaded from your library? Please list title and author.

Librarian's changing role

• move from caretaker to identifier of resources
• behind the scenes mediator
• creator of web sites

Technological changes of the 21st Century

1. Patrons can access library collection from a multitude of locations.
2. More resources are available in indexing and abstracting services.
3. Information is provided in raw form-full text and page images

Bibliography of resources

Besser, Howard. "The shape of the 21st Century library". http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/howard/Papers/peters.html

Price-Wilkin, John. "Just-in-time Conversion, Just-in-case Collections". http://www.dlib.org/dlib/may97/michigan/05pricewilkin.html#introduction

The Role of the 21st Century Library

The library serves as a gathering place and must maintain this capacity--no matter what technological advances occur.

A place for continuous educational learning.

The library must serve the underserved.

The Future

Technology may be a frightening thing to some, an exhilarating phenomenon for others, and a means to survival for others. What role does technology play in the future of libraries of the 21st Century?

With technological advancement, libraries have gone from collecting materials for "just in case" someone needs it to get the materials "just in time".