So, to summarize, SEs necessitate a huge organizational effort, provide the user with too much noisy information, but are useful for a one-time shot for quickly needed information. DLs, on the other hand, require a modest support effort, provide the user with focused information, but have to be made available beforehand while excelling in quality and ease of use. It is important to note that these two paradigms are neither conflicting nor exclusive, but are complementary in nature. 4 Conclusion Digital libraries and search engines on the Internet are similar in many ways yet differ in others. The direction they are all going seems somewhat alike, yet, more research should be carried out to determine the real trends.
Further research can also probe into the versatile types of SEs and DLs and their generations.
More exploration into additional aspects, like multimedia, composition of libraries, and DL profiles should take place to promote these issues for the benefit of the millions of users surfing the net. 5 Kessler J., Internet Digital Libraries, Artech House, Boston, 1996. 6 Lesk M., Practical Digital Libraries, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco, 1997.