The past decade has seen a remarkable expansion in digital networks within the U.S. research and education community from a state where networking was the purview of the privileged few to one where it is considered an essential tool by millions of researcher and educators. The entire assemblage of linked networks using the IP communications protocol throughout the world is now referred to as the Internet. It is a network of networks, which within the U.S., links one third of all two year and four year colleges and universities, many primary and secondary schools, public and private institutions, commercial enterprises, individuals in their homes, and foreign institutions in sixty countries.
Information sources accessed via the Internet are the ingredients of a digital library.
These information sources, when connected electronically through a network, represent important components of an emerging,universally accessable, digital library. To explore the full benefits of such digital libraries, the problem for research and development is not merely how to connect everyone and everything together in the network. Among other things, this will require both fundamental research and the development of intelligent software. Awards will be made by NSF as Cooperative Agreements for proposals to engage in research and testbed activities. It is expected that up to 6 awards will be made under this announcement, depending on the quality of proposals and the availability of funds.