The rediscovered agents of change: librarians working with academics to close the information gap

This document contains two papers that discuss information provision to customers at the University. of Melbourne (Australia) library in light of the merger of the library with information technology (IT) and multimedia education. The first paper addresses the following issues involved in providing this service: content--collection and access decisions based on the academic programs of the University; cooperation--strategic alliances, among academics, library staff, IT staff, and multimedia education staff, so that the new Information Division becomes an integral part of teaching, learning, and research activities; gateways--focal points on the World Wide Web for providing access to information for a discipline, including print as well as electronic resources; authorization and authentication--allowing students and staff to access resources from anywhere at any time; statistics--data to indicate usage of electronic resources; and promotion of the library. The second paper provides examples of the different types of collaborative partnerships that are emerging among libraries in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. The paper then focuses on the University of Melbourne experience, highlighting: positioning the library to meet the agenda; new services; the Percy Baxter Collaborative Learning Centre; collaborative multimedia projects--researching history and the postgraduate library; and librarians working in faculty. (Contains 13