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updated:
September 16, 2003
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Digital Library
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DEVELOPING THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES DIGITAL LIBRARY The Libraries of The Claremont Colleges embrace technology as a means to support teaching and learning at The Claremont Colleges. We have a history of applying state-of-the-art technology to the management of information. In the 1960s, the Libraries had one of the first computerized cataloging systems, and Honnold Library was the first West Coast headquarters for the national library network OCLC. We were early adopters of CD ROM technology and later the World Wide Web to access information. Among academic libraries today, creating a digital library that offers users a wide array of online resources is an essential component of library service. The presidents of The Colleges consider the digital library an important enhancement to teaching in Claremont, and possibilities for its development are being discussed at the highest administrative levels. The Libraries' goal is to lead a centrally administered Claremont Colleges Digital Library program that integrates The Colleges' digital collections and services and the technological infrastructure to support them along with the Libraries' digital collections and services upon which our users rely. The Libraries are challenged by our desire to meet the varying digital library needs of the seven schools in Claremont, in part because there are ten separate information technology departments among them, including those of Claremont University Consortium and the Libraries. Additionally, we are neither organizationally nor fiscally prepared at this time to embark on a full-fledged digital library program that addresses all the needs of the Libraries as well as The Claremont Colleges. This essay, first, discusses the Libraries' digital library efforts to date, then concludes with thoughts for how we may make meaningful progress toward our goal of a Claremont Colleges digital library program. |