Electronic collection management and electronic information services

Issue title: Electronic Information Management

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Cotter, Gladys^a | Carroll, Bonnie^b | Hodge, Gail^{b; *} | Japzon, Andrea^b

Affiliations: [a] U.S. Geological Survey, 2201 Sunrise Valley Drive / MS 300, Reston, VA 22092, USA | [b] Information International Associates, Inc., 1009 Commerce Park Dr., Suite 150, PO Box 4219, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Gail Hodge. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: As the life cycle of information products has become increasingly digital from “cradle to grave”, the nature of electronic information management has dramatically changed. These changes have brought new strategies and methods as well as new issues and challenges. At the bottom line the services are increasingly delivered to a desktop from distributed publishers or information providers. Information organizations act either as primary information providers or as brokers between the user and the primary service provider. This paper covers developments in the factors and strategies affecting collection management and access. It discusses major trends in electronic user services including electronic information delivery, information discovery and electronic reference. Finally, it addresses the challenges in user and personnel education in response to this electronic environment and an increasingly information literate user population.

DOI: 10.3233/ISU-2005-25104

Journal: Information Services & Use, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 23-34, 2005