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To obtain first‐hand data on the main challenges in preserving digital resources in libraries, archives and information centres in China.

The data in this paper have been acquired by e‐mail questionnaire. The conclusions are based on feedback from 57 respondents, distributed in 14 provinces in China, who work in libraries, archives and information centres with rich digital collections and long‐term experience in preserving digital resources.

The authors consider that the long‐term preservation of digital resources in China faces two critical difficulties: firstly, the pressure on preserving digital resources has not been fully recognised and so the relevant training in the management and operation of digital preservation is absent; secondly, government departments attach little importance to this field and lack uniform guidelines. Therefore, the paper suggests that relevant international conferences or workshops should be held in China, and that a working group led by the National Development and Reform Commission of China should be set up to plan the construction, sharing and maintenance of Chinese digital resources.

This research is limited to Chinese administration systems. Although the data in this paper are authentic and representative, nevertheless it is a small sample of the numerous document collection organisations in the country.

The data and analysis in this paper should greatly help international colleagues understand the status regarding the preservation of digital resources in China.

This research is the first of its kind undertaken in China and will provide a new vision for international peers and organisations involved in digital documentary heritage around the world.

Knowledge management systems have opened new arrays in the present digital environment. Nowadays, because of innumerable features, they have become the choice of many organizations. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the issues of a KM-based digital library system that will support the creation, organization, storage, dissemination and utilization of the institution's digital knowledge assets.

The study is based on viewpoints, a review of existing concepts and the structure of DL and KM, and on the results of an interview of ten DL practitioners world-wide. The respondents are purposively selected from the participants' lists of an international training program (ITP) on “managing electronic information and digital libraries”. The interview is conducted by e-mail using a short, structured and open-ended questionnaire.

The present study finds some significant overlaps between DL and KM and argues that a generic KM process of acquisition, organization, storage and retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge by receiving feedback can suitably be fitted in DL. It is apparent that an integration of KM can add value to building a knowledge sharing culture, promoting the KM culture, and ultimately increase the organizational output. It helps to improve efficiency, to ensure higher productivity and user satisfaction in the library.

Further research can be conducted into designing KM-based DL systems keeping in view the needs and behavior of the users they serve. A deep log analysis of the academically endeavored KM-based systems can be carried out for working out a better and productive DL. The recent study requires a practical investigation.

The outcome of the research will improve the DL system to enhance its effectiveness, staff professionalism and will help in achieving coordination. Knowledge innovation in a DL environment will help in the creation of better and an enlightened knowledge-based society.

The issues discussed here will help in achieving satisfaction levels both on the part of users as well as DL professionals. The proposed issues and structure is an original work and theoretically, they would contribute to the advancement of an academic debate in both the areas of DL and KM.

Stresses that the multimedia nature of the next generation of digital libraries requires the digital librarians (DL) to be essentially a type of specialist librarian who has to manage and organize the digital library, handle the specialized tasks of massive digitization, storage, access, digital knowledge mining, digital reference services, electronic information services, search co‐ordination, and manage the archive and its access. The digital librarian acts as guardian of the information superhighway/the universal digital library or the global digital library and acts as a symbiotic human‐machine guru. This article also highlights the roles and functions of a DL in information retrieval, content delivery, navigation, and browsing. It envisages the professional education and training for digital librarians in the management of digital information systems. It denotes the DL’s interface functions, roles, skills and competencies for the management of digital information systems in the important areas of imaging technologies, optical character recognition, markup languages, cataloguing, metadata, multimedia indexing and database technology, user interface design, programming, and Web technology. This paper finally advocates and targets the task of creating a new job title – digital librarian – to take care of digital libraries and to manage the digital information system.

The aim of legal deposit is to ensure the preservation of and access to a nation’s intellectual and cultural heritage over time. There is a global trend towards extending legal deposit to cover digital publications in order to maintain comprehensive national archives. However, including digital publications in legal deposit regulations is not enough to ensure the long‐term preservation of these publications. Indeed, there are many practical difficulties associated with the entire deposit process. Conceptsm, principles and practices that are accepted and understood in the print environment, such as publication, publisher, place of publication and edition, may have new meanings or no longer be appropriate in a networked environment. Mechanisms for identifying, selecting and depositing digital material either do not exist or are inappropriate for some kinds of digital publication. There is a great deal of work on developing digital preservation strategies; this is at an early stage. National and other deposit libraries are at the forefront of research and development in this area, often in partnership with other libraries, publishers and technology vendors. Most of this activity is of a technical nature. There is some work on developing policies and strategies for managing digital resources. However, not all management issues or users’ needs are being addressed.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of an integrated digital library (DL) system based on knowledge management (KM) process.

The study is based on viewpoints, review of existing concepts and frameworks of DL and KM, and the result of an interview of nine DL practitioners world‐wide. The respondents are purposively selected from the participants” lists of two international conferences held in 2008. The interview is conducted through e‐mail using a short, structured and open‐ended questionnaire.

The study finds some significant overlaps between DL and KM and argues that a generic KM process of acquisition, organization, storage and retrieval, and dissemination of knowledge with receiving feedbacks can suitably be fitted in DL. Thus an integrated DL system can be consisted of digital resources, technological infrastructure, experience and expertise, DL services and a KM process. The integration of KM can add value to developing a knowledge‐based culture, management of intellectual assets, promotion of knowledge sharing, innovations in DL services and a strong leadership position for DL.

The research presents theoretical viewpoints of DL and KM, and the model, therefore, demands for practical investigation.

The study suggests the adoption of KM process in DL system to enhance its effectiveness.

The proposed model is an original work and theoretically, it would contribute to the advancement of academic debate in both the areas of DL and KM.

Digital library research has attracted much attention in the most developed, and in a number of developing, countries. While many digital library research projects are funded by government agencies and national and international bodies, some are run by specific academic and research institutions and libraries, either individually or collaboratively. While some digital library projects, such as the ELINOR project in the UK, the first two phases of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) Programme in the UK, and the first phase of DLI (Digital Library Initiative) in the US, are now over, a number of other projects are currently under way in different parts of the world. Beginning with the definitions and characteristics of digital libraries, as proposed by various researchers, this paper provides brief accounts of some major digital library projects that are currently in progress, or are just completed, in different parts of the world. There follows a review of digital library research under sixteen major headings. Literature for this review has been identified through a search on LISA CD‐ROM database, and a Dialog search on library and information science databases, and the resulting output has been supplemented by a scan of the various issues of D‐Lib Magazine and Ariadne, and the websites of various organisations and institutions engaged in digital library research. The review indicates that we have learned a lot through digital library research within a short span of time. However, a number of issues are yet to be resolved. The paper ends with an indication of the research issues that need to be addressed and resolved in the near future in order to bring the digital library from the researcher‘s laboratory to the real life environment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the standards, strategies, support and challenges of digital preservation in institutional repositories in academic libraries in Ghana.

The research was qualitative. Data used for analysis were drawn from interviews with respondents selected purposively from eight Ghanaian academic libraries.

A key finding of the study was that although the academic libraries had operational directions for digital preservation activities in the institutional repositories, available standards and practices for ensuring long-term preservation seem to be unsuitable.

Recommendations based on findings included development of comprehensive digital preservation policies to provide mandate and direction to preservation of the libraries digital collections, development of disaster plans, adequate funding, staff development and support from management.

The study has demonstrated the need for academic libraries in Ghana to have and develop good digital preservation standards for sustaining the institutional repositories to help in realizing its benefits.

The study aims to determine the environmental impact of printed content in libraries and thus to find out how a digital information service can help libraries and institutions play a key role in helping the environment.

Data were collected and analysed through a combination of environment scan and document analysis, and some mathematical calculations. Comparative data for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from printed books and journals in certain countries, and some specific university libraries in Australia and New Zealand are presented. A lifecycle analysis approach is used to identify various factors that are responsible for GHG emissions for printed as well as digital information resources.

The study found that dematerialisation, i.e. the replacement of printed content with digital information services, can help libraries and institutions to reduce their impact on the environment. However it is also noted that further research is needed to develop benchmarks and comparative data for GHG emissions from print‐based and digital information services.

The paper provides data relating to the potential savings in GHG emissions that can be achieved through dematerialisation of printed content in libraries. A series of research issues in the area are identified.

The paper opens up a new area of research on the environmental impacts of information services. For the first time raw data on GHG emissions from printed content held in university libraries are calculated.

The purpose of this study is to present some critical digital preservation strategies that are important for the preservation of digital information.

From review of the related studies, this paper presents critical digital preservation techniques that are vital for small libraries to ensure the accessibility of the digital collections of enduring value.

This paper comprehends major digital preservation strategies and possibilities for small libraries through which they can overcome the financial, technological, expertise and policy constraints to implement their digital preservation program.

This paper covers the major strategies that were collated during literature review and instrumentation process for the PhD study of the first author on this topic.