The American Library Association (ALA) has announced the release of a special e-content supplement to its house magazine American Libraries, entitled Digital Futures, and available here. The 44-page supplement, ALA’s fifth such publication, presents innovation options and case studies for libraries embracing digital initiatives.
“The library community needs more proactive advocacy for information policy,” argues Alan Inouye, director of ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy, and guest editor of the supplement. “Being on offense includes both taking action and planning for future action.” Inouye is also co-author of a concluding article whose title, “A Policy Revolution for Digital Content,” sums up much of the focus of the entire supplement. Other titles include “Empowering Libraries to Innovate,” “The National Digital Platform for Libraries and Museums,” and “Transforming the Library Profession.”
Adds ALA President Courtney Young, “I’m so pleased to see story after story about librarians being proactive related to the opportunities and challenges presented by the digital revolution.”
This is probably just the kind of committed guidance that librarians and archive owners need to help find their direction among the various digital opportunities, as well as fight their corner against other interest groups such as the Big Five publishers now licensing their ebooks to libraries, as Inouye notes. And it’s available for free.
