|
As we approach the twenty-first
century, dramatic changes in the availability of information mean that members
of the academic community can now have access to information from wherever
they may be. The Internet has opened the way for people to receive in their
homes, classrooms, or workplaces unprecedented volumes of information, often
complete with text, images, video, and sound. Libraries, the traditional keepers
of information, must organize these new resources so that they can be used
by an increasingly mobile society. Furthermore, the library of the twenty-first
century must take on the challenge of helping ordinary citizens make sense
of the flood of information now overwhelming them. To meet these challenges,
the traditional library must change. The Library of Tomorrow is a five-year
program starting in 2001 to transform the traditional library into the model
university research library for the twenty-first century. Our work at the
University of Virginia will transform our own library, allow us to share projects
with and serve the other libraries of the Commonwealth, provide a model for
research libraries nationwide, and create a major learning resource for schoolchildren,
citizens, and businesses.
|
