Digital Library Models and Prospects

Digital libraries are the means by which people of the next millennium will access materials found in current libraries, yet the nature of digital libraries is only now being shaped. Different visions of digital libraries include the digital library for electronic access to materials previously found in print form, access to data stores, and access to scholarly (self-published) materials. In order to b ring about significant progress towards the realization of full -scale digital libraries, existing publishers must participate. Yet economic impediments to full participation of publishers exist, including fears of unauthorized duplication, distribution, or modification. Uncertainty about whether digital access to published materials may yield acceptable fees or royalties may be addressed through adoption of “pay as you go” or “buy once, use many” models, yet significant infrastructure development is neede d to make these models feasible. The proliferation of scholarly reprint archives, moderated discussion groups, and electronic conferences and proceedings is helping to address some of the publisher concerns, as are developments in network access, browser standards, bibliographic standards, data security, and encryption.