The Emory University Virtual Library Project began in 1993 with funding from the Luce Foundation. Unlike many grant‐funded electronic initiatives, the Virtual Library Project has no predetermined terminal point. Instead of existing merely as a repository for a set body of knowledge, the Virtual Library evolved into a campus‐oriented gateway to information in all scholarly disciplines. The initial financial support ceased in 1996; but the Virtual Library continues to grow due to continued funding from Emory University’s administration. Although its primary focus is inward toward Emory University users, much of the Virtual Library Project is freely accessible through the World Wide Web.
Any graphics‐capable Web browser will provide users with the full richness of the Virtual Library. Upgrades to the site in the near future are likely to include advanced features such as JAVA scripting, so a recent release of a browser soon will be highly desirable. Although all resources within the site do integrate well with standard browsers, the variety of user interfaces can be somewhat distracting. Project administrator Betsey Patterson indicated that a common interface display is now under development.
The variety of content within the Emory University Virtual Library Project was impressive. Some of the resources, such as networked CD‐ROM databases (mostly only available to the Emory community) and course reserves, are typical for research library Web sites. Others, however, are unique to the Virtual Library. Some of the most interesting content of the Virtual Library includes:
A multi‐phase cooperative effort with Harvard University to place African art online.
Selected edited writings by seventeenth and eighteenth century women in America and Britain, formatted in both HTML and SGML.
Several hundred writings by and about Martin Luther.
The Web journal, Molecular Vision, devoted to research in molecular biology, cell biology and genetics.
The Emory Virtual Library is obviously the result of a campus‐wide effort to provide information electronically. Many of the individual sites within the Virtual Library have not been updated since 1996; but this may be attributed to the lapse in funding after the Luce Foundation grant expired. Only a few dead‐ends were encountered while navigating the site. The biggest disappointment was that the GAMMA (Georgia Archives and Manuscripts Automated Access) project seems to have made no progress since its conception. This break in the development process is a good reminder that continuous effort and money are required to be a thriving online resource. I would recommend the Emory University Virtual Library Project as a good prototype for an online information site of the future.
