October 23, 2002

Going back to my October 4th posting, the full document is online. The title is "Dimensions and Use of the Scholarly Information Environment," which is quite a mouthful. A telling quote from the conclusion: "Library directors and college and university administrators face an increasingly complex institutional and informational environment. The population they serve is far from homogeneous in its level of sophistication, information needs and infrastructure requirements." No kidding. I think this is quite an important document because is starts to give us an idea of how scholars are adapting to the web and more importantly, how the scholars of the future -- today's undergrads -- are being shaped by it. The ideas and expectations that they develope in their formative years will drive the scholarly information landscape for decades to come. Or should I say the landscape that replaces the one we are familiar with from the past and which is clearly in transition.

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