Editorial

Citation

Gelfand, J. and Riggs, C. (2004), "Editorial", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 21 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhtn.2004.23921baa.001

Editorial

Winter in North America and Europe is clearly underway as we submit this issue. We have content again from several parts of the world and we always try to achieve a global context for our readers. That is achieved more universally and easily if you share information about what is happening in your parts of the world.

In this issue, you will find the following kinds of submissions – conference reports, several features and some of the usual columns. We are exploring running some new columns and promoting some new columnists. You do not have to commit beyond one submission at a time and we want to see if we can form some thematic issues about general topics such as ubiquitous computing in libraries, different applications, etc. We hope that you will inform us about whether you want to participate!

Conference reports are always of interest because not everyone can be everywhere but increasingly we all need to have a pulse on what happens in our absence. In this issue we have interesting reports from the major geological sciences conference; EDUCAUSE, the premier conference for academic and administrative computing; the American Geophysical Union; the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association and a training program conducted at AgriLibnet in India. The changing barometer of information technology is heightened by new developments, discoveries, capabilities, applications, and due to enormous creativity. The ubiquity of technology in all spheres of our lives reduces some barriers and heightens others with an increasing digital divide but communication and networking has certainly been enhanced.

Colleagues share the evolution of a new library consortia in Ghana, the first in that country. Technology applications emerge in two features, the first about how libraries use streaming video and the second about how library staffs engage in technology training, and promote exchange and dialogue between librarians and support staff. This article explores what contributes to good staff morale and effective technology support in library environments. It seems simple but it is quite complex to do this well with shrinking staffs being driven by competing demands.

Today most libraries in the academic sector are experimenting in how they can support eResource scholarship and the creative output generated by new technology. We have had articles about the challenges facing digital repositories, increasing distance education programs and more common open source software that allows for better distribution of new content. Access and security issues, a new charter for bibliographic control based on international metadata standards and just new social factors about how we live in a global network creates simultaneous excitement and frustration. These challenges are far too mammoth to explore in this newsletter venue, but the opinions and short expository writings we want to attract will get people thinking about sharing, researching, and realizing that the library environment is a form of glue that keeps communities and active learners connected. This synergy we want to foster and share and we invite your participation in future issues as we introduce a larger variety of relevant concerns facing the field of library hi-tech. A bit about everything related to technology applications in all kinds of libraries is what we are – full of current and exciting developments from around the globe. Please join us by reading, commenting, and contributing.

Julia Gelfand(jgelfand@uci.edu)Colby Riggs(cmriggs@uci.edu)Co-editors