Open Access : Introduction to The European Library. Britta Woldering, The European Library: Integrated access to the national libraries of Europe, Access, March 2004. Excerpt: "The European Library (TEL) Project [was] completed at the end of January 2004. The key aim of TEL was to investigate the feasibility of establishing a new Pan-European service which would ultimately give access to the combined resources of the national libraries of Europe....The European Library service will be a portal which offers integrated access to the combined resources of the national libraries of Europe. It will offer free searching for both digital and non-digital resources and will deliver digital objects - some free, some priced....The publishers' view on The European Library is mixed. On the one hand, they see the possibility of new distribution channels by including their networked electronic publications in the national bibliographies and consequently in the catalogues of the national libraries. On the other hand, they fear that their commercial interests could be jeopardised." [Open Access News] 1:46:43 PM  [Feedback ]  

Libraries : Libraries struggle to stay hightech. Gary Price shares with us an article about the cost of maintaining "free" computers in libraries with hemorrhaging budgets. "Like libraries across the country, Hartford got its computers for free, through grants. But experts are worried that U.S. libraries — especially smaller ones with nickel-thin budgets — will have a hard time paying for software upgrades and hardware replacements that are needed every few years. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations recently released a report warning about the potential loss of computer service. Although budget cuts have hurt libraries of all sizes, the smallest ones, in places like Hartford, are most at risk, the report cautioned." [LISNews.com] 1:45:46 PM  [Feedback ]