INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN THE DIGITAL ERA: A MILLENNIUM APPROACH

Abstract

The digital library offers users the prospect of access to electronic resources at their convenience temporally and spatially. Users do not have to be concerned with the physical library’s hours of operation, and users do not have to physically go to the library to access resources. Much has been written about the digital library. The focus of most studies, papers, and articles has been on the technology, or on the types of resources offered. Human interaction in the digital library is discussed far less frequently. One would almost get the impression that the service tradition of the physical library will be unnecessary and redundant in the digital library environment. This paper explores the role of the librarian and of the service perspective, in the digital library environment. Focus of the paper is limited to librarian/user collaboration where the librarian and user are not co-located. The author, explores the role of the librarian as outlined in the literature on digital libraries, examines some studies that attempt to put the service perspective in the digital library, surveys existing initiatives in providing library services electronically, and outlines potential service perspectives for the digital library.