The Internet is impinging on many peoples' lives and Information Managers are the best people to help researchers around the labyrinth. The Internet is just in its infancy and we are all going to be witnesses to its growth and refinement."
The Internet in libraries is a research topic dealt with by numerous organizations, for example the Internet Public Library (IPL) or the International Federation of Library Institutions and Associations (IFLA).
Opened in March 1995, the Internet Public Library (IPL) is the first digital public library of and for the Internet community. Its different sections are: reference; exhibits; especially for librarians; magazines and serials; newspapers; on-line texts; and Web searching. There are also sections for Teen and Youth. All the items of the collections (20,166 as of December 8, 1998) are carefully selected, catalogued and described by the IPL staff. As an experimental library, IPL also tries to discover and promote the most effective roles and contributions of librarians to the Internet and vice versa.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)is a worldwide, independent organization created to provide librarians around the world with a forum for exchanging ideas, promoting international cooperation, research and development in all fields of library activity. IFLA's objectives are: to represent librarianship in matters of international interest; to promote the continuing education of library personnel; and to develop, maintain and promote guidelines for library services. The part relating to Electronic Collections and Services includes four sections: library and information science; digital libraries; information policy; and Internet and networking.
A number of professional magazines are available on the Web.
Library Journal Digital (LJ Digital) is an electronic offshoot of Library Journal (LJ), founded in 1876 and the oldest U.S. independent national library publication. LJ is read by over 100,000 library directors, administrators, and others in public, academic, and special (e.g., business) libraries. Published 20 times a year, LJ combines news, features, and commentary with analyses of public policy, technology, and management developments. In addition, some 7,500 evaluative reviews (of books, audio and video, CD-ROMs, websites, and magazines) written by librarians help readers make their purchasing decisions. Each issue reviews 250 to 350 adult books, mostly prior to publication, making it a source for librarians and publishers' early evaluations.
Published by the University of Houston Libraries, Texas, the Public-Access Computer Systems Review (PACS Review) is an electronic journal about end-user computer systems in libraries. It is distributed at no charge on the Internet and other computer networks to 8,000 persons in 60 countries. The journal publishes papers on topics such as digital libraries, document delivery systems, electronic publishing, expert systems, hypermedia and multimedia systems, locally mounted databases, network-based information resources and tools, and on-line catalogs.
The librarian's job has significantly changed with computers, and continues to change with the Internet. Computers made the catalogs much easier to handle. In place of all these paper cards to be classified into wood or metal drawers, the computer could sort out the bibliographic records itself. The loan of documents and the processing of orders became computerized too. Then networking computers allowed the creation of union catalogs for a region, a country, or a specific topic, furthering interlibrary loan.
What does the Internet bring to librarians, libraries and library users? It brings:
- the use of electronic mail for internal and external communications, and as a means of communication with the public;