Research Collections in the Information Age: The Library of Congress Looks to the Future. Center for the Book Viewpoint Series No. 27

Abstract

Library collections and their value and uses in the Library of Congress are the topics addressed in this pamphlet, which features two opposing papers. In "Collections at the Core," Stephen Ostrow argues that priority should be given to such collection-based activities as developing, preserving, and providing access to, in their original formats, bodies of materials that the Library of Congress has custody over. A distinction is made between collection-based and information-based institutions, and it is noted that, while a library may provide access to information if it has a developed collection, the reverse of this statement is not true. In "Idols in the Library," Robert Zich advises scholars not to be misled into mistaking the piece of paper for the facts or fancies which it embodies. This essay advocates the implementation of information technologies in library systems and also recognizes the aesthetic service which libraries provide. An introduction provides background information for the papers, and an epilogue cites a report by the Management and Planning Committee of the Library of Congress (dated November 1988) which embodies the two philosophies: while the Library of Congress can be recognized as a collection-based institution, technological solutions are needed to some pressing collection-based problems. The epilogue also briefly describes one such technological endeavor: the American Memory Program, a 6-year pilot project whose goal is to deliver the content of Library of Congress collections in American history and culture to libraries on optical media. (MAB)