FYI: Digital Strategy For the Library of Congress

["Bjoern Hoffmann" <h0444vnu _at__ rz.hu-berlin.de>]

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309071445/html/

This report, commissioned by the National Research Council and made
available by the National Academy Press (last mentioned in the
February 6, 1999 _Scout Report_) takes a hard look at the impact of
digital information on the Library of Congress's traditional mission
(and by implication, the mission of all US libraries) to collect,
preserve, and make accessible the intellectual work of the American
people. Even though the American Memory Website created by the
Library of Congress is hugely successful and a national model for
digitizing historical collections, the report points out that the
problem of collecting and preserving materials that are "born
digital" is far more urgent. New digital information is being created
at a rapid pace, and much of it is more ephemeral than the
paper-based materials now become digital at American Memory. The
report not only outlines the problem clearly, but makes
recommendations for action. For example, the report urges the Library
to immediately define policies for collecting Websites created in the
US, and to form a high-level planning group to develop digital
preservation strategies. LC21 is fascinating reading for all crystal
ball gazers concerned with the future of libraries. [DS]