Yet provosts have no idea how much is being spent on library and information resources, since most of the budget for these resources is scattered under different budget categories, such as communications functions, computers and networks, and storage. The book is still the best technology for many researchers. The qualities that make it so useful, such as page turning and indexes, can be better incorporated into advances in information technology. In budgeting, do not think only about acquiring new materials. Consider also what can be done to make better use of what is already available, as through electronic resources that make print resources more available, such as indexes.
Cost sharing Find new and efficient ways to share costs among libraries.
ACLS and CLIR should monitor the evolution of scholarly communications practices and regularly distribute information about the implications to the higher education community. ACLS-CLIR might commission a study of the prospects for truly innovative research using digital information resources. CLIR and ACLS should follow these developments closely and provide follow-on investigation, analysis and publication of relevant Web sites. More convenient tools for discovery, retrieval, manipulation, and analysis are needed for the publishing genres of monographs, journals, and of related materials such as social scientific data sets and collections of digital source materials in all disciplines.