Editorial

Citation

Gelfand, J. and Riggs, C. (2003), "Editorial", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 20 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2003.23920daa.001

Editorial

Well, the test of optimism was what saw us through the preparation for this issue. Just when we think we have planned for the ultimate extremes we are challenged to rethink and consider new strategies. Our issues are only as valuable as the content contained in submissions and when they fail to materialize we really wonder what our alternatives will be. Seeking promises for later delivery, we called in all our chips and coerced acquaintances and friends to bail us out. We are so pleased with the results that this issue has presented in a blend of conference reports and features covering important issues, that is also a very enjoyable read, we hope cover-to-cover or screen-to-screen depending on your reading preferences.

Virtual Reference remains an activity that we try and monitor. The College of DuPage teleconference programs on this topic are always provocative and interesting and we have a report on the most recent program. Danielle and Arthur Mihram have just returned from attending the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and share an interesting sense of programs that are relevant to most academic and special librarians. This conference promotes information exchange within the scientific community and is attended by about 5,000 scientists and nearly 1,000 science journalists and science teachers from around the globe. Judy Ruttenberg attended the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Boston and reports on pertinent applications and programs from that conference.

Our Around-the-World stop this issue is at Portland State University Library. With the themes of "change is constant" and "reinvention is more prevalent" than we probably want, this case study of the Millar Library reorganization demonstrates how technology influences staffing and space planning, programs and services in a large consolidated library and describes how the strategy to "reinvent a new commitment to reference services" was achieved.

David Yamamoto shares an enlightening sense of the challenges facing Webmasters today. Most Web sites are past the "first generation" and now the emphasis and challenge are to "reinvent" and give users a better and more user-balanced site to navigate and utilize. We have all learned a lot in the past decade and the new models of Web sites offer designers many alternatives. This piece is insightful and clearly articulates the themes of interoperability, usability testing, ease of use, manipulation, that resonate with all users and Web designers. Julia Gelfand highlights a chapter in a new book that focuses on "Dealing with technology: administrative issues" and challenges you to consider the identified issues.

The usual columns found in each issue are also included: e-Book Currents, New books and the News & Noteworthy and Calendar. What this issue may not have in abundance is a lot of international content. We welcome and encourage contributions from around the world and would love to hear more from our colleagues in Europe, Asia and Africa. We look forward to hearing from you as the summer conference season soon begins.

An announcement made in mid-March about the new digital degree – a Master's in Digital Libraries – is being launched at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. This program will promote a concentration in digital libraries and will be offered as part of the school's Master of Arts in Communications in Contemporary Society. According to the official announcement, the program was begun in 2001 to "address the transformation of the information professions in the digital ages, and no profession has seen greater change than librarianship," said Peter Decherney, the program's associate chair. He characterized the program as being useful "for those who are already working in libraries, as a further degree," and did not see it as competing with established programs in library and information education, which are not offered at JHU. The program is largely theoretical, offering an intellectual framework for digital libraries as opposed to pragmatic courses on actually developing digital content or services. "We keep returning to our advisors, but they repeatedly say that's the education that's really needed," according to Decherney. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of this program.

Julia Gelfand(jgelfand@uci.edu)Colby Riggs(cmriggs@uci.edu)Co-editors