ECDL2000, the Fourth European Conference on Research and Advanced Te- nology for Digital Libraries, is being held this year in Lisbon, Portugal, following previous events in Pisa (1997), Heraklion (1998), and Paris (1999). One major goal of the ECDL conference series has been to draw information professionals, stakeholders, and user communities from both the research world and from - dustry into a discussion of the alternative technologies, policies, and scenarios for global digital libraries. The success of previous conferences makes them a hard act to follow. The eld of digital libraries draws on a truly diverse set of scienti c and technical disciplines. In the past three years, moreover, global cooperation on research and development has emerged as an urgent priority, particularly in the new European Framework Programme and in the Digital Library Initiative in the United States. Because of this diversity, the eld is perhaps still struggling for an identity. But this struggle for identity is itself a source of energy and creativity. P- ticipants in this eld feel themselves to be part of a special community, with special people. Each of us may claim expertise on a narrow issue, with speci c projects, but the choices we make and the methods we use in local solutions can have unforeseen impacts within a growing universe of interconnected resources.