Anybody can create lists of this, that, or the other thing, but nobody has the unique content of your collection. Provide access to it, and you will soon see it getting used more than you ever dreamed. The outcome may look very much like the conclusion to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, but with the advent of globally networked computers and digitizing equipment, libraries can now provide more and better access to their special collections, and considering the current economic milieu where information is readily bought, sold, and licensed, this may be the one of the futures for libraries. Alternatively, identify collections that have been born digital such as mailing lists or newsgroup postings. Collect and index these documents, and then provide access to them.
People are the real sources of information.
Like newspapers, this information is often first expressed in mailing lists or newsgroups. Adding value Traditionally, our catalogs of materials do not qualitatively rate nor rank their contents. Below are a few possible qualitative characteristics people unconsciously assign to sets of data and information. Articulate what qualities are important to you are your clientele and rank your data and information materials accordingly. Just like corporations who are forming alliances between themselves to create bigger and better organizations, libraries must continue to strengthen consortiums between themselves and other institutions for the purposes of resource sharing.