Online Learning Update Ray Schroeder, editor, COLRS - Online@Illinois Springfield

Online Learning Update - a blog published daily since 2001 by Ray Schroeder, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Springfield

Sunday, December 25, 2005
From libraries to ‘libratories’ - Leo Waaijers, First Monday
Until now libraries and publishers have developed a digital variant of existing processes and products, i.e. catalogues posted on the Web, scanned copies of articles, e–mail notification about acquisitions or expired lending periods, or traditional journals in a digital jacket. However, the new OAI repositories and services based upon them have given rise to entirely new processes and products, libraries transforming themselves into partners in setting up virtual learning environments, building an institution’s digital showcase, maintaining academics’ personal Web sites, designing refereed portals and — further into the future — taking part in organising virtual research environments or collaboratories. Libraries are set to metamorphose into ‘libratories’, an imaginary word to express their combined functions of library, repository and collaboratory. In such environments scholarly communication will be liberated from its current copyright bridle while its coverage will be both broader — including primary data, audiovisuals and dynamic models — and deeper, with cross–disciplinary analyses of methodologies and applications of instruments.

 



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