**Apologies for cross-posting**
     
     The British Library Research and Innovation Centre has published 
     two new reports:
     
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     Information needs of rural users: an update
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     Rural communities have changed in recent years including 
     alterations in employment and living patterns, transport and 
     other local facilities, age and wealth distributions. At the same 
     time, the growth of information and communication technologies, 
     and the World Wide Web in particular have made it easy to 
     disseminate information. There has also been a growth in the
     concept of community information networks. These developments and
     changes indicate a need to reappraise the needs of people living 
     in rural areas. This report reviews and updates our understanding 
     of the information needs and access of individuals and groups 
     living, working, and being educated in rural areas of the United 
     Kingdom. It looks at the published literature in the past 15 
     years, utilising statistical and electronic information, and 
     surveys public libraries and the main organisations concerned 
     with rural society. To supplement this information, some 
     small-scale case studies in rural villages were carried out. It 
     summarises the difficulties that people in rural areas face
     when needing information, and looks at ways in which access could 
     be made easier through both conventional and technological means. 
     
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     A strategic policy framework for creating and preserving digital
     collections: a report to the Digital Archiving Working Group
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     The report addresses the critical issue of developing a strategic 
     policy framework for the creation and long-term preservation of 
     those digital resources which will form our future cultural and 
     intellectual heritage. It provides a high-level presentation of 
     the framework identifying how policies need to addressed, the key 
     stages in the life cycle of a digital resource, the 
     inter-relationships and dependencies between each stage, and how 
     these are influenced by the legal and business environment within 
     which the digital resource is created, used and ultimately 
     preserved. Case studies demonstrate how issues identified in the 
     framework have been addressed by organisations in different 
     business environments. A summary of best practice and standards
     in implementing the framework is also included. This report is 
     also available on the Internet at: 
     http://ahds.ac.uk/manage/framework.htm
     
     
     Further details, including ordering information, are available 
     from the Centre's web pages: www.bl.uk/services/ric/. 
     
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     Simon Matty
     Information Officer
     Research and Innovation Centre
     The British Library
     2 Sheraton Street
     London W1V 4BH
     
     tel: 0171 412 7054
     fax: 0171 412 7251
     email: [log in to unmask]
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