Information technology is not merely provided enhanced versions of services of the sort we have come to expect from libraries; it is inducing a fundamental change in the way information is created, disseminated, and used. The shift from the current centralized, discrete publishing model, toward a distributed, continuous, and self-publishing model, is already underway. However, left to its own devices, some of the the better aspects of the current model, such as peer review, may be compromised, even as the opportunity for new services is afforded. Effort will also be requiired to provide first class support in the emerging infrastructure for data that are not textual in nature, such as images, videos, maps, and scientific data sets.
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