Access to Information Bibliography Issues in Access to Information A Bibliography

Access to Information BibliographyUpdated 6/23/99Issues in Access to Information: A BibliographyIntroductionWhat is access to information? In the simplest terms, we can say that if an individual with aninformation need is able to obtain information that satisfies the need, the individual has access toinformation. Our mission as librarians is to facilitate access to the greatest possible extent.However, when we begin to examine how access to information is provided, potential barriers to accessemerge from all quarters. Barriers to access can be technical in nature. Obsolete formats can be inaccessible without specialpreservation efforts. Digital media require careful implementation to ensure continued access. Newtechnologies can offer expanded access by offering multiple language and media compatibility, but theymust be carefully designed to meet their potential. Persons with disabilities may face physical barriers when using information technology thatassumes certain visual and manual abilities to operate. Physical barriers or mobility restrictions can preventaccess to library buildings. Thoughtful use of new and old technology can minimize these barriers.Cultural barriers may prevent underrepresented groups from obtaining information or makingtheir own views known. New technology has the potential to create new information communities, or it canact to strengthen cultural barriers.Economic barriers arise when information is too costly to obtain. Libraries have traditionallysubsidized access to textual materials, but budgetary constraints and technological change present newproblems and opportunities in maintaining access. Informed policy can address information inequalityarising from economic sources.The organization of information is an essential element of information access. Print and electronicinformation needs to be organized so that it can be easily found and understood. Librarians are bringingtheir invaluable skills in information organization to the electronic world.Legal and ethical concerns affect information access. Open access must be balanced againstprivacy rights and defended from censorship. Ethical and legal principles must be adapted to keep theseforces in balance as technology alters information distribution.Access to government information is a special area of concern. The principles of open access that gaverise to the Federal Depository Library program needs to be revised and reinforced in an age of Internetinformation distribution.

Access to educational and scholarly information is under pressure as the global production ofinformation expands. Economic constraints and technological change are combining to restructure theuniverse of scholarly information.Finally, library policy must confront these potential barriers and offer guidance on how librariescan maximize access to information.This bibliography lists selected recent publications that discuss these aspects of access toinformation.

Technical AspectsBorgman, Christine L. Multi-media, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual digital libraries: or how do weexchange data in 400 languages? D-Lib Magazine (http://www.dlib.org), June 1997.Advocates that digital materials be provided in frameworks enabling users access from Internetinterfaces created in different languages. Some focus on developing standards for usinginternational character sets for digital materials.

Going digital : strategies for access, preservation, and conversion of collections to a digital format. NewYork : Haworth Press, 1998.Also published as Collection management, v. 22, no. 3/4, 1998.Access to Information BibliographyUpdated 6/23/99Pastine, Maureen Diane. Ownership or access to electronic information--a selective bibliography.Collection Management, vol. 22, nos. 1-2, 1997, p. 187-214.

Preserving digital information. Transforming Libraries, issue 5, 1997.Challenges in preserving access to essential information in a rapidly changing technologicalenvironment; hardware and software obsolence, data selection, legal issues, access, and othertopics. With descriptions of preservation policy in 19 libraries and organizations in the US andCanada.

Physical aspectsCunningham, Carmela and Norman Coombs. Information access and adaptive technology. Washington,D.C. : Phoenix, AZ : American Council on Education ; Oryx Press, 1997. (Series on highereducation)Discusses computers and communications devices for the disabled.