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Humanists, Libraries, Electronic Publishing, and the Future

WHILECOMPUTERIZATION HAS AFFECTED many library operations, it has had relatively little impact on most humanities work other than to make library collections more accessible within libraries (e.g., the OPAC) and among libraries (interlibrary loan systems). However, recent advances in technology are much more likely to have an immediate impact on arts and humanities work and its relationship with the library. The development of microcomputers and locally controlled laserdisk databases has already tended to a decentralization of control over information. This decentralization may cause libraries some problems such as those related to an increase in expenses and in the difficulty of bibliographic control. Electronic mail, by changing the way people communicate, may improve interdisciplinary contact, or it may create two categories of information rich and information poor scholars, as will technology in general. On the other hand, as the other articles in this issue of Library Trends indicate, there are many areas where machine-readable text and interactive computer systems will greatly assist the humanities scholar and possibly even improve general access to the humanities for the average person. In the short run, the most likely prospect is for all current systems to continue with electronic formats merely adding to the richness of the human record. In the long run, electronic information technology will very likely have important effects, but many of the changes will be so gradual as to be unnoticeable to those experiencing them until they look back.