The role of electronic technology in the academic environment is to facilitate transforming information into knowledge. The purpose for teaching students to use digital technology is for them to acquire information that is directly related to their course work, to explore the world of knowledge, and to acquire skills and capabilities that may be applicable in their post- graduate lives. There are several forces at work within and outside of higher education to integrate information formats, delivery models, and electronic technology in learning, teaching, and research. Trustees and senior administrators have allocated increased funding for technology since it offers the institution a competitive advantage for the recruitment and retention of both student and faculty. Publishers are beginning to provide textbooks and other publications that integrate print with CD-ROMs, online databases, telecommunications, and information networks.
Electronic technology is a transformation agent that holds promise for the academic community.
Harvesting its fruits, however, requires vision, organization, and the talent and cooperation of information professionals who are in campus centers such as the library, computing services, media, and academic departments. Of these, the library is a primary center that boasts a long history of applying technology in the management of information and of having an experienced faculty and technical staff who work in academic partnership with classroom faculty to meet learning objectives. The library is an ideal center for distributing electronic technology. It is the campus center where academic community members come for information resource access, skill development, and mentoring. Its philosophy is to serve the academic community and to extend information resources outward to include local, national, and international communities to support and strengthen the institution's mission of teaching, scholarship, and public service.