Implementing digital libraries (panel session)

Abstract

This panel will address some of the practical issues of implementing digital libraries. Everyone seems to agree that digital libraries are in their infancy. Many of us watch in amazement as new developments occur. In the year 2000 building a production digital library means analyzing tradeoffs between stability, innovation, and costs/benefits. In this panel we will address some of the more interesting issues of digital library implementation. One of the critical challenges is the economics of digital libraries. Institutions are forming consortia out of necessity and this raises issues of trust, cooperation and commitment. In order for institutions to deliver web-based resources effectively sophisticated cross-organizational access management tools are needed to authenticate and authorize. Institutions are developing new tools and exporting them from research departments into libraries. How well does this collaboration work? The above issues are only a sampling of the challenges this panel will explore.