The Proliferation of Digital Information
 
The massive physical spaces required for library collections are evident in our institutions. But once, not too long ago, these collections were much smaller. I worry when people tell me that I should not worry about the storage requirements and the costs for digital information, since there was a time when book collections were much smaller too, when faculty knew the contents as well as the places in which the books were located, and when browsing and selecting were much simpler than today. With the rapid growth in digital content, we need to be concerned with its reliability and durability over time and how researchers will continue to access this content.

The Librarian of Harvard College is responsible for nearly ten million books plus millions of visual images, microforms, manuscripts, documents, maps, photographs, slides, sound recordings, films, scrolls, and the like. They are in dozens of locations. Nearly two million items are in an off-campus depository. Yet, only one hundred years ago it was possible for one of my predecessors to recall all library materials from circulation and have them properly placed on the shelves for an annual inventory and dusting! I use this as an example to make the point that we, today, have no idea how vast-and how different-the information universe may become. The techniques of managing today's information "collections" may not carry us smoothly into the future.

Collections-in all the earlier, pre-digital formats-have been costly to acquire, catalog, store, house, and manage. For many valid reasons, including the convenience of distributed access, institutions now consider digital resources to be important investments. Some are hoping that the digital titles will completely replace printed or microform collections, as well as eliminate the related costs of managing them. Some feel that digital resources will so greatly expand access that users will no longer have to go to a physical facility, the library. Some institutions envision convenience and outreach to new markets for distance learning programs. Others are simply excited by the vast array of information that can be found on the Web, much of it at "no cost."

As we move about rapidly in the stateless environment of the Web, we sometimes struggle for the right words to describe what we saw and used. How often in conversation do we hear people asking others when they used a version of a Web site or whether they were on the development version or the public version when trying to pin down a problem? The significance of words like "citations" and "publication" are fading. Replicating one's research activities takes on new dimensions.

For example, a library's online catalog may display both the bound holdings and the link to the electronic issues of a journal, but who maintains the commitment to provide access to the full run? With online journals, the library often leases or licenses access and no longer acquires and builds a lasting resource. Where does that leave the researcher who expects continuity? What happens if/when publishers avoid any responsibility for maintaining e-archives of back files? What happens if/when they maintain only those back files that are profitable to archive? How do we shield our users from the risks of depending on proprietary systems that can be withdrawn with little warning?

The reality is, on the Web, anyone can be an author, can maintain a Web site, and can claim names. The ease with which we depend on the sites of publishers, vendors, and other universities and colleges-without knowing where the sites are, if they are backed up, how they are archived, when they were last bought or sold-is amazing. The seductive lure of "free information," which can be found at all hours without having to go to library buildings or to deal with library catalogs, is intriguing, but will that information still be there next fall? Will the user ever be able to find it again? Will it be in the same version or in revised form?

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