Historically, the collections and services of these institutions have made New York one of the most information-rich states in the country, and have stimulated business and economic development as well as research, culture, and scholarship. Over the past decade, New York State's research libraries have collaborated on several statewide initiatives that have enhanced their ability to share valuable resources. These initiatives have included interlibrary loan, coordinated collection development, bibliographic record sharing, and preservation of materials. Today, technological innovations make possible even more coordinated, cooperative undertakings that allow these collections to transform into digital libraries where their actual content, not just bibliographic description, can be shared over telecommunications networks, thereby facilitating rapid, remote access to materials regardless of their location or condition. In addition to providing cataloging records, libraries can now offer direct electronic access to full text, graphic images, numerical databases, sound and moving images.
Digital libraries promise equitable access to information from any place at any time.
The state's investment in technology for libraries through the Electronic Doorway Library project provides an infrastructure that will allow citizens throughout the state to gain immediate access to unique library materials that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Tools to navigate the Internet are readily available and software to manage and present electronic library collections and convert and preserve print materials are under development. These tools can improve public access to information in new, inexpensive ways. What is available electronically depends upon the investment of repositories in purchasing or converting materials to digital form. Many of the most valuable materials that contribute to the well-being of New Yorkers are housed in the state's research libraries and other libraries and can be made widely available over telecommunications networks.