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Libraries and Imagination at the Dawn of the World Wide Web

Published/Copyright: November 30, 2007
Libri
From the journal Volume 50 Issue 3

This article traces discussions from 1991 to 1994 about the impact of the World Wide Web on libraries. Librarians and other information professionals commented about the Web's potential as a tool for organizing and using materials on the Internet in print journals devoted to library science, in periodicals about computing trends, and in online media such as discussion lists. Evaluation of the Web took place in the context of interest in Internet Gopher, WAIS and similar applications, and the wish to simplify access to online information. Librarians reading about the Web at that time encountered two schools of thought. Some visionaries hoped that the Internet would free researchers from relying on intermediaries, including librarians. Practical-minded librarians, on the other hand, emphasized organizing the Internet as a service to readers. Both camps saw potential value in the World Wide Web. By 1994, librarians were experimenting with specific Web-based projects to organize digital information, improve online searching, guide users, and publish texts online. Libraries were soon using Web-related software to fulfill traditional missions in the new online environment.

Steven W. Sowards is Head of Main Library Reference, Michigan State University Libraries, 100 Library, East Lansing, Michigan, USA 48824-1048. Email: .
Published Online: 2007-11-30
Published in Print: 2000-September

© 2000 by K. G. Saur Verlag GmbH, Federal Republic of Germany

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Libraries and Imagination at the Dawn of the World Wide Web
  2. Re-branding and Re-discovering the Digital Information User
  3. Knowledge Access Management: The Redefinition and Renaming of Technical Services
  4. Information Driven Management: The New, but Little Perceived, Business Zeitgeist
  5. Quality Management Approaches in Libraries and Information Services
  6. Using the Balanced Scorecard to Facilitate Strategic Management at an Academic Information Service
  7. Scanning the Environment for Competitive Advantage: A Study of Corporate Banking Managers in Nigeria
  8. The Fate of Displaced Cultural Valuables in Russia: Different Approaches to One Problem
https://doi.org/10.1515/LIBR.2000.137

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Libraries and Imagination at the Dawn of the World Wide Web
  2. Re-branding and Re-discovering the Digital Information User
  3. Knowledge Access Management: The Redefinition and Renaming of Technical Services
  4. Information Driven Management: The New, but Little Perceived, Business Zeitgeist
  5. Quality Management Approaches in Libraries and Information Services
  6. Using the Balanced Scorecard to Facilitate Strategic Management at an Academic Information Service
  7. Scanning the Environment for Competitive Advantage: A Study of Corporate Banking Managers in Nigeria
  8. The Fate of Displaced Cultural Valuables in Russia: Different Approaches to One Problem
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