At the center of libraries are collections and services. But, the advent of electronic resources in general, and digital libraries in particular are forcing a revolutionary change in the concept of library 'collection,' and with it also of services, such as access, related to the collection. The objects in the collections are changing from physically tangible to electronically intangible. The economics are changing from ownership to licensing and sharing. The locations are changing from a physical location to ones that are distributed all over. Libraries have also become creators and publishers of digital collections. And so on.
    Much has been written about the changing nature of library collection in the digital and networked environment. In practice, many libraries and library organizations have addressed the issue from a pragmatic viewpoint. New collection development policies have been developed, licensing guidelines have been proposed, criteria adjusted, access established according to new conditions, etc. Still, the whole issue of 'collections' in digital libraries is far from settled. The concept and practices are evolving and providing libraries with problems, and at the same time with opportunities for imaginative solutions and better services as well.

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This assignment is another essay. The essay combines that which you have learned from readings for Assignment 3 and from lookups in Exercise 3. You are turning in ONE combined product reflecting both, but it has to reflect both.

On the basis of

• the readings AND
• the exercise for this week, and
• any other readings* that you may choose on your own (you do not have to include additional readings, only if you wish to illustrate some points),
• as well as on the basis of your experiences (including those from this and other exercises),
• and your opinions write a short essay on the topic:

Discuss different or differing conceptions and particularly issues that have emerged about digital collections. What is involved in development of policies for electronic resources and digital library collections? What is involved in licensing? In policies for imaging?

By definition, an essay is an opinion, rationally presented. Thus: What do you think about all this? How do you understand 'collection' in digital libraries? As mentioned, in addition to any readings, you can use your own experiences and the experience from exercises to make comments.

As for previous essay (Assignment 1), no page length is specified. Be brief and concise, but not so brief that you did not say anything but an obvious generality. As for all assignments, follow the format prescribed in the syllabus. However, the style and organization of the essay is completely in your hands, or rather mind and imagination.