27-10-2012, 01:37 PM
Electronic Collection Management and Electronic Information Services
ABSTRACT
As the life cycle of information products has become increasingly digital from ‘cradle to grave,’ the nature of electronic
information management has dramatically changed. These changes have brought new strategies and methods as well as new
issues and challenges. At the bottom line the services are increasingly delivered to a desktop from distributed publishers or
information providers. Information organizations act either as primary information providers or as brokers between the user
and the primary service provider. There has also been a significant reorientation from ‘ownership’ of materials to ‘access’ to
information. This paper covers developments in the factors and strategies affecting collection management and access. It
discusses major trends in electronic user services including electronic information delivery, information discovery and
electronic reference. Finally, it addresses the challenges in user and personnel education in response to this electronic
environment and an increasingly information literate user population.