My response to Helen Leech's mail about the changing role of libraries
in the Community Information field is that I feel our systems will
become hybrids. I think there will be a definite role for the
forseeable future for the library collecting information itself. At
the same time, links to the web sites of relevant organisations will
be provided (and maintained of course). Information relating to the
local authority is being collected and disseminated by many
departments, but they often forget that the hard part is keeping the
information up to date. The challenge for the library will be to
co-ordinate them, maintain standards, and ensure currency is
maintained. In some cases they will add their information to the
library system, in others the library system will point to theirs. The
same principles will apply to outside organisations, but perhaps with
less ability to influence them.
Duncan Westlake
IT & Development Manager, Libraries, Arts & Information,
London Borough of Hillingdon.
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