Chris Jones wrote:
> The Gurardian Higher carried a news item(
> http://www.educationunlimited.co.uk/news/story/0,5500,379950,0
> 0.html ) and a
> piece by Tim O'Shea who helped draw up the plans for the project(
> http://www.educationunlimited.co.uk/higher/story/0,5500,379675
> ,00.html ).
The full HEFCE reports are at
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/default.asp?Page=HEFCE/2000/euniv2
> 2/ The article points to the need for an e-library and points
> toward copyright and intellectual property rights as great difficulties an
> e-library would face. When I read this I wondered about the kinds of
issues raised
> by Nardi and O'Day in relation to the work librarians do. Tjhe idea of an
> e-library may well be an impoverished version of what library services
currently deliver.
Most university libraries already operate as an e-library to some extent,
particularly for distance learners, in offering databases, journals, data,
past exam papers and so on across the Net as well as providing support by
email and, in some cases, synchronously with chat. Any impoverishment would
mainly be in relation to books, where there are considerable barriers in
regard to dealing with copyright issues, despite current HEFCE/JISC funded
activity working for solutions. On the other hand, an e-university does not
haveto relay totally on networked delivery (even for course material) and
could take the OU approach and rely more on set books that had to be
purchased for providing basic information.
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Ian Winship
Learning Resources, University of Northumbria at Newcastle
City Campus Library, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
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e-mail: [log in to unmask]
phone: 0191 227 4150 fax: 0191 227 4563
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