Different library departments must work together, both formally and informally, in implementing encoded archival description and in repackaging descriptive information about archival collections to other formats, particularly machine-readable cataloging. The authors, one a technical services librarian and the other a special collections archivist, describe their experiences collaborating in these processes at The Ohio State University. Although other institutions may differ in their organizational structure, the authors hope to provide technical guidance, as well as a model of collaboration between archivists and technical services personnel. Careful dialogue and planning are essential to transcend the traditional divide between archival and library descriptive practices and systems.

The most powerful marketing, service, and information-distribution tool a library has today is its Web site, but providing Web content in many languages is complex. Before allocating scarce technical and financial resources, it is valuable to learn about writing systems, types of writing, how computers render and represent writing systems, and to study potential problem areas and their possible solutions. The accepted Web standard for presenting languages is Unicode and a full understanding of its history and the coding tools it provides is essential to making appropriate decisions for specific multilingual and internationalization projects. Actual coding examples, as well as a sampling of existing multilingual library services, also serve to illuminate the path of implementation.

Library acquisitions has moved from paper to online records for ordering and receiving, but the audit archive for invoices has remained largely paper based. Document-management technology (DMT) offers a solution to this condition. The authors survey the literature on DMT and its potential for use in the library acquisitions environment. This article considers the rationale and policy decisions that underpin the elimination of paper in favor of image files as an audit archive in library materials invoicing. A case study of the implementation of DMT to support and enhance traditional invoice processing in the acquisitions department of a large research library is included.

The fast and continuous technological change that is characteristic of the information society we find ourselves in has demonstrable impact on the way librarians go about their business. This paper offers a scenario of technological changes already in the pipeline and yet to come, and how those changes will impact the role of librarians in the future. One of the main concerns of this paper is the continued relevance of information professionals as infomediaries in our future society.

Building digital heritage requires substantial resources in materials, expertise, tools, and cost. Government and university projects are limited in the time and space they can devote to covering even a small part of the world’s heritage. The preservation coverage problem is most serious in areas where sources of intellectual and cultural heritage may diminish or disappear over time. A central notion that helps resolve these issues is to make it easier for digital technology to reach sources of valuable heritage. The authors propose an approach to exploit noninstitutional resources for wider participation and inclusion in digital-heritage endeavors. The approach attempts to copy the techniques of institutional digital-heritage work while bringing together noninstitutional resources and providing standard practice.