Research libraries are taking on a range of new roles in the digital
age as they become more deeply engaged in the
creation and
dissemination of knowledge. While some of these roles are extensions of
traditional library activity, others are largely new. Wendy Lougee,
university librarian at the University of Minnesota, explores some of
these emerging functions in this report.
Lougee includes several examples of how some libraries and library
organizations are forging new services in areas of collection
development,
information access, and user services; she also touches
briefly on the continued importance of library as place. In addition,
she suggests where new roles might emerge. In the section on
information access, for example, she notes the potential for libraries
to
contribute to the development of the Semantic Web, which aims to
develop languages for expressing information in a form that machines
can process, and which therefore can be searched more accurately and
efficiently. She writes, "Designing the Semantic Web will require a mix
of skills, and librarians have the potential to contribute
significantly to this effort."