Digital information and networks challenge the core practices of libraries, archives, and all organizations with intensive information management needs in many respects—not only in terms of accommodating digital information and technology, but also through the need to develop new economic and organizational models for managing information. LC21: A Digital Strategy for the Library of Congress discusses these challenges and provides recommendations for moving forward at the Library of Congress, the world's largest library. Topics covered in LC21 include digital collections, digital preservation, digital cataloging (metadata), strategic planning, human resources, and general management and budgetary issues. The book identifies and elaborates upon a clear theme for the Library of Congress that is applicable more generally: the digital age calls for much more collaboration and cooperation than in the past. LC21 demonstrates that information-intensive organizations will have to change in fundamental ways to survive and prosper in the digital age.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Executive Summary
1. Digital Revolution, Library Evolution
2. The Library of Congress: From Jefferson to the Twenty-First Century
3. Building Digital Collections
4. Preserving a Digital Heritage
5. Organizing Intellectual Access to Digital Information: From Cataloging to Metadata
6. The Library of Congress and the World, Beyond Its Walls
7. Management Issues
8. Information Technology Infrastructure
Afterword
Bibliography
Appendix A: Biographies of Committee Members
Appendix B: Briefers at Plenary Meetings and Site Visits
Appendix C: List of Letters Received
Appendix D: Acronyms