The Evolving Virtual Library II: Practical and Philosophical Perspectives

Citation

Smith, A.G. (2001), "The Evolving Virtual Library II: Practical and Philosophical Perspectives", The Electronic Library, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 49-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2001.19.1.49.6

As libraries and their materials move into the digital environment, the topic of the Virtual Library underlies most developments in the information professions. How do we select and acquire digital resources for our libraries? How can our traditional cataloguing and classification tools be adapted to provide access to digital and networked information resources? How can we ensure the preservation of digital information? The Evolving Virtual Library II is based on an earlier 1996 volume and has been updated to address Virtual Library issues from a number of perspectives: Special/Corporate Academic, Public, and School libraries. In addition there are chapters describing specific virtual library projects: Museum of America (MOA), National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD); and a chapter offering a brief network primer – a useful rapid introduction to the acronymland of the Web.

As the title implies, this is a mixture of practical and theoretical perspectives. Laverna Saunders’ introductory chapter highlights some of the issues that librarians face in the virtual library: changes in user expectations, organisational structures, and job skills; as well as the “dark side” – censorship and inappropriate material – of the prototypical virtual library, the Internet.

In special libraries, the main manifestation of the virtual library is the intranet/extranet. Judith Field examines the effect this has had on the roles of special librarians, and their required competencies.

One of the issues for academic libraries is the provision of networked access to specialised collections. Tore Brattli of the University of Tromsø in Norway (and the only non‐US contributor) draws on practical experience to discuss the development of library‐generated internal databases. Another issue in academic libraries is the increasing delivery of courses by distance. Vicky York discusses the issues involved in providing library services to remote learners: the resulting pressure on public libraries, the increased use of Internet resources as learning materials, and how the move to virtual libraries can enable academic libraries to provide a distance independent service.

The Saint Joseph County Public Library in Indiana has been an innovative public library system in the virtual library area. Don Napoli gives a condensed history of SJCPL experience, and highlights the challenges faced by his staff. Interestingly it appears that IT challenges are only part of the story – the need to develop compatible teams is seen as even more important, even to the extent of staff sharing Myers Briggs profiles in order to ensure that compatible personality types work together!

School libraries have been undergoing dramatic changes, not just from the move to an increasingly digital environment, but also from changes in teaching methods. Joyce Valenza describes the “two tornadoes” of school reform and the Internet that have struck school libraries in the last decade. The modern constructivist, project‐based, self‐learning approach to learning implies an increased need for resources, at the same time that the Internet has made primary sources increasingly available.

The concluding chapter by Marshall Keys provides an overview of the virtual library, and some predictions. Keys points out that an increased use of licensed digital collections will lead to lack of control by individual libraries. There is a danger that selection and retrospective access will become the responsibility of publishers and consortia.

The volume has a comprehensive index, but no overall bibliography. Most material seems to have been written in early 1998, although the issues addressed are still relevant and the material has not dated markedly.

The Evolving Virtual Library II manages to successfully tackle both the practical and a theoretical perspectives of the topic. In approaching the practical aspect, the book has largely avoided the danger of the “how I did my Virtual Library good” approach – the practically oriented chapters provide useful lessons for other information professionals. Not all aspects have been comprehensively covered: for instance many librarians would have appreciated a chapter on the negotiation of licences. However the volume is a useful resource that contains much relevant to information professionals confronting the issues of the Virtual Library.