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The ancient walls between types of institutions and between users and providers of information have broken down, and the Council on
Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is helping forge new
relationships among traditionally unrelated groups. Librarians, publishers,
museum directors, and scholars must begin to talk to one another, and during
the past year CLIR has sponsored meetings that brought together members
of these groups.
Perhaps the most challenging and potentially fruitful of these dialogs is
that between librarians and scholars. In both teaching and research, faculty
must now use material in electronic and Web formats, and increasingly they
use images as well as texts. Librarians must support these new activities
and must understand how they relate to traditional research methods.
Supporting the dialog between information users and providers, especially
between scholars and librarians, is a primary objective of CLIR's current work.
19992000 was a year of significant "firsts" for CLIR. The first of 10 annual sessions of the Frye Institute at Emory University was a grand
success. Fellows of the Institute are drawn both from libraries and from
academic computing organizations, because we believe that these two groups
now share the task of acquiring and managing information for teaching
and research. CLIR also inaugurated its annual Sponsors' Symposium in
May. The symposium, which focused on library services of the future, drew
120 representatives from sponsoring institutions. Also in May, CLIR and
the Digital Library Foundation (DLF) launched a new Program for
Distinguished Fellows. The program will support senior information
professionals for up to a year to pursue research that furthers the agendas of
CLIR and the DLF. Finally, CLIR staff this year began to integrate
international components into all of its areas of activity. Begun in 1989, the
international program previously had been devoted almost exclusively to
preservation and access issues. Reflecting this broadened scope of activity, three
years ago the Board added a second international member. It will continue
to have at least two members from abroad.
You will see from this annual report that CLIR's finances are in very
good shape. President Marcum and the staff have found solid financial
support for CLIR's core expenses and projects. The Board congratulates
the president and staff on a stellar year.
Stanley Chodorow
Chairman of the Board
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