Digital Libraries: Just what We Need or Confusing Quagmire

Abstract

Building of the digital library components for the Library Systems of the Oakland Community College is the result of a balance between the chal-lenges of meeting the needs of users and limited resources. Stressing that libraries are in competition with Google, Yahoo and other information provi-ders, the author indicates the necessity of providing the basics (e.g. making the digital library easy for finding information, integrating/separating traditi-onal and digital resources, maintaining separate gateways for electronic resources, one-stop shop-ping through the online catalog), as well as provi-ding added-value services (e.g. online interlibrary loan, digital reference, authentication for off-campus use, journal linking services, information portals, assignments on the library Website, digitizing re-sources). A wish list containing "federated sear-ching", "article-level linking", and "cooperative vir-tual reference" has been developed in planning for future development to the digital library.