Introduction: Libraries Online
The Online Catalog
The online catalog is the most important and most powerful tool that libraries have to organize and present information to their users.
Its strength lies in its relationship to a series of standards developed over time to meet the needs of both users and library staff. Each cataloging system is based on a world-of-information-view that places catalog items in appropriate categories.
Today users are offered what appears to be an enriched catalog replete with ancillary databases, cd-rom access, and various gateways to other information sources. To the user it's "just the catalog" even though it may in reality be a seamless web of programs using various types of hardware.
Some libraries add simple text files containing tips on how to use the catalog, library guides, calendars of events; others offer commercial and in-house bibliographies and databases.
Library Websites
Increasingly Internet libraries use the World Wide Web to make local and remote files, collections, and databases available.
Some libraries use email to alert users about new materials in the collection, changes in library policies and procedures, and up-coming special events. Newsfeeds (RSS) and blogs are beginning to be used for the same purposes.
The uses of the online catalog and library website are limited only by our vision and willingness to experiment.