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We opened last year's annual report with a question: What is a
library? Today, the answer to that question is more elusive than ever. In 2001,
the shape and form of the library in the digital age continued to be at
the center of our work. We challenged our constituents to imagine a
library that does not demand that the user be physically present to take
advantage of its services. For years, the CLIR staff, like our colleagues across
the nation and the world, has painted some version of this dream for
faculty, students, and the public. We have pointed to the many advantages
of computer networks for delivering information to people anytime,
anywhere. But moving from a physically bounded space containing
collections that have been built in response to local demands is harder
than most librarians care to admit. Libraries are serving audiences unknown
to them, and it is difficult to satiate the appetite of new patrons for
electronic resources.
As librarians think about those users who are not part of their
traditional constituencies, they ask a fundamental and thought-provoking
question: Whom do we serve, and exactly what do we offer them? Local
libraries have unique cultures. The librarians who manage them have worked
hard to learn their users' preferences, special needs, and requirements.
Collections have been built with care and attention that bespeak the
close connections that exist between the library and those who depend upon
it. Adding a layer of users we do not knowand probably will
never knowpresents interesting questions about the library's roles
and responsibilities.
It would be relatively simple to serve new audiences if we could think
of digital collections merely as additions to the print and audiovisual
collections that are described in our online catalogs. If that were the case,
users could simply consult these catalogs for the information they need. But it
is not that simple. In addition to placing collections online, librarians
must consider the services that will accompany those digital collections.
Most librarians continue to think of the library as the place it has been
for the past hundred years or soan authoritative center for
information resources. However, digital-era patrons, particularly students, think of
the library in different terms and have different expectations. Increasingly,
we hear reports from faculty members that their students are interested
only in digital resources. Students cite convenience, as well as the ability
to retrieve information on their own rather than to rely on a librarian, as
key advantages of digitization. Faculty members are trying hard to
persuade their students that they must go beyond the computer screen to find all
of the materials they need for in-depth study and research.
Nonetheless, when we pay close attention to the use patterns of students and patrons
in a variety of types of institutions, it becomes clear that the need for
an authoritative physical institution is indeed decreasing.
This period of transition from a purely physical manifestation of
the library to the hybrid condition of print and electronic resources
and eventually, we assume, to a largely digital collection, requires libraries
to assess their ability to go beyond the physical building and
mediated services to the more abstract virtual librarya library that will not
be recognized as a "place" in the traditional sense of the word. While those
of us who know the great value of curated print collections would like
to share our understanding with our users, we are compelled to
recognize that new generations of information seekers place a higher value
on convenience and speed than on carefully assembled and
authoritative print collections.
Amidst these rapid changes, there is one constant. It is the need for
access to high-quality research materials. Faculty members need the support
of librarians in finding new ways to make connections between the user
and the materials that will make possible intelligent inquiry and the creation
of new knowledge. How will librarians serve their traditional roles in
this new environment? Can the library find ways to deliver
high-quality digital information such that it meets users' needs for immediacy
and convenience?
Role of Digitized Collections
Recognizing that students, as well as many faculty members, are
more interested in resources that can be found on the Web than they are
in traditional print resources, some librarians are establishing
production-level digitization laboratories. Others are developing portals that will
lead information seekers to Web sites of curated resources. Most librarians
and archivists are convinced that the most important action they can take is
to digitize as many of their research collections as possible or to lead
their users to digital collections of other institutions. Funding agencies
have helped fuel the digitization activities in libraries and archives, and
the results are encouraging. The Library of Congress (LC), by digitizing
its own collections and providing access to those of others, has made
available 7 million images of special collections materials relating to
American history. With help from private foundations and government
agencies, notably the Institute of Museum and Library Services, many academic
and public libraries, historical societies, archives, and museums have
selected the special collections materials most likely to be of interest to a
broader public and have converted them to digital form.
This interest in digitization has had many positive results. Chief
among them is a growing interest among cultural institutions in working
together to identify and digitize important collections. At the same time,
new problems have emerged. For example, many of these special
collections materials have not been cataloged. When these images are added to
the Web, only brief descriptions accompany them. When a user is
searching the Web, what are the chances that he or she will find all the
related materials from many different institutions when there are no standards
for description?
CLIR's Task Force on the Role of the Artifact in Library Collections
has risen to the challenge of offering guidance to librarians and archivists
on preserving artifactual collections of research value. The task force,
made up primarily of scholars, acknowledged that many resources must be
in digital form for purposes of access, but it also urged collections
stewards to pay special attention to preserving certain types of artifacts that will
be necessary for historical research. Finding that balance between
more digital access and long-term preservation of artifactual special
collections will be a high priority for CLIR in the coming months.
The Digital Library Federation (DLF) has concentrated on defining
the infrastructure that must be in place if libraries are to harness
information technology effectively. In response to an immediate need, DLF has
described the requirements for a service that registers the existence
of persistent digitally reformatted book and serial publications.
In addition to making the case for the development of a registry
service, the DLF developed functional requirements for such a service.
Although the registry service is not intended to be exclusive (it will record
information about the large and valuable legacy of digitized books and serials)
it does set forth minimum characteristics that might be expected of a
faithful digital reproduction. DLF itself does not expect to establish this
service, but it is engaged in identifying a service organization that is capable
of assuming this responsibility.
Preservation in the Digital World
CLIR has always had a strong interest in preservation issues, but
the increase in electronic resources intensifies the need to resolve
questions about the longevity of digital materials. In 1996, CLIR and the
Research Libraries Group issued a seminal report entitled
Preserving Digital Information. Much progress has been made since this document was
published, but a preservation infrastructure for digital information is not yet in place.
When the U.S. Congress announced in late 2000 that it would add
$100 million to the LC budget to develop a national infrastructure for
preserving digital information, the LC turned to CLIR for assistance in
developing the plan for such an infrastructure. Although it is unusual for CLIR
to be engaged directly in a particular library's planning project, we
believe that this is a unique opportunity to work with another leadership
organization engaged in conceptualizing some of the infrastructural
elements that must be in place in the new environment. In some respects,
CLIR's role in this effort is an extension of one that it has assumed successfully
in the past, namely, to convene disparate parties who have a specific
interest in an issue. The outcome of the national plan for the preservation
of digital information is enormously important, and CLIR is pleased to
play a role in articulating the plan.
CLIR Looks to the Future
CLIR is not immune to the external forces that shape
contemporary libraries and archives. As we become involved in efforts
to reconceptualize library services in the digital environment, we are
compelled to consider changes in our own role and mission. We decided
that our thinking about changes that must be made should begin at home.
For this reason, we commissioned a survey of how our sponsors, as well
as organizations we would like to have as sponsors, perceive the value
of CLIR's work.
This is the first such analysis that CLIR has ever attempted. To carry it
out, we contracted with The Communications Office, Inc., to ask our
sponsoring and other colleagues to reflect on the extent to which CLIR's
programs and publications meet their needs.
The results, while gratifying on one level, indicate that better
understanding of CLIR's agenda is needed. Our program staff has begun a series
of focused sessions to articulate our vision and mission. As we imagine
the changes that libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural
organizations will experience as they find their proper roles in the digital
world, how do we assist them? We expect to have a more specific answer to
this question in the next several months.
A Word of Thanks
The generous support of more than 175 institutions, private
foundations, and individual donors makes our work possible. We are privileged
to work with these partners in reshaping information services for the future.
CLIR's traditional institutional sponsorsresearch libraries and
liberal arts college librarieshave been unfailing in their support. In
addition, three comprehensive university members joined the rank of sponsor
this year. In 2001, the number of CLIR sponsors grew from 145 to 161,
an increase of 11 percent. The DLF added one member, the University
of Washington, to bring its membership to 26 institutional participants.
The general support for CLIR provided by The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been
invaluable. This type of support gives us the flexibility to move quickly
into areas that need attention or to focus deeply on a problem that
requires more staff power.
Project funding provided by The Atlantic Philanthropies, the
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Documentation Abstracts, Inc., the
Henry Luce Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the H.
W. Wilson Foundation, and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation allowed
us to maintain important programs such as the Frye Leadership Institute
and to begin new projects, such as a communications program aimed at
policy makers in higher education.
The financial investment that sponsors and funding agencies have
made in CLIR has given our staff a stable foundation. The creativity and
dedication of the staff are awe-inspiring, and their contributions multiply
each year as they make more connections with other organizations and
find ways to mesh our agenda with those of other organizations.
CLIR's standards of excellence begin with the staff.
This year, CLIR program staff welcomed two new members. Anne
Kenney joined us in September 2000 as a half-time director of programs. She
also works half-time for Cornell University Libraries. Jerry George, formerly
of the National Archives and Records Administration, joined CLIR as
special projects associate. We bid a reluctant farewell to Ann Marie Parsons,
a student in The Catholic University of America's School of Library
and Information Science, who left CLIR in May after completing her
master's degree internship.
It is a great pleasure to work with staff of such extraordinary talent
and commitment. It is equally rewarding to work with the CLIR
Board16 individuals from different perspectives who set the tone and standards
for our organization. I consider myself fortunate to work on
important problems confronting information organizations with our staff,
Board, partner organizations, and funding agencies and sponsors. I am
deeply grateful for their contributions and for the trust they have placed in me.
Deanna B. Marcum
President
September 30, 2001
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