Editorial

This issue, albeit, late on the publishing schedule per its expected issue release contains a wonderful synthesis of content from the Electronic Resources and Libraries Second Annual Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Almost this entire issue is devoted to presentations made at this conference,which is growing in reputation as the position, "Electronic Resources Librarian" has become more widespread bridging the technical services and public services fronts in nearly all libraries which are growing their electronic collections. Whether the concentration is from the acquisitions and licensing viewpoint to the cataloging and processing end, or from the collection development and management where an increasing emphasis is on serials and eBooks, many libraries are offering this segment of staff new resources for professional development and learning.

Find out what about a dozen different conference reporters had to say about this meeting, besides concluding that the work is important and critical.

Technology plays a vital role as discussants argue about the revisions to online catalogs and new features found in the evolving world of Electronic Resource Management Systems. There is an incredible amount of information contained in this balanced report contributed to by a range of talented colleagues involved in many aspects of electronic resources. Consider it a short treatise on the topic. What makes it an interesting read are the different viewpoints shared by a range of columnists from different kinds of library organizations – they found various things to comment upon, commend and be critical about and challenge. This intellectual discourse makes for a valuable conference report for those of us unable to attend but who try and track these important meetings in some meaningful way.

We are thankful for all the contributions and any shortcoming is the work of the editors in streaming the column – rarely do we get such interest in a conference, with such personal reflections and passion. There is a conference blog, wiki and various other reports and we are sure that there will be more conferences like this dedicated to the changing themes so endemic in this area of our business.

Several issues ago, our Nigerian colleagues T. Rexwhite Enakrire and O. George Onyenania wrote about factors affecting the development of information infrastructure in Africa. In this issue, you will find a sequel, "Causes inhibiting the growth or development of information transfer in Africa: a contextual treatment." This piece more fully explores the economic consequences of losing a competitive battle in the wars on information literacy and cultural development.

Many interesting reasons contribute to why Africa continues to suffer from a weak access and connectivity infrastructure, and why a solution has not been sustainable.

As we enter another season of professional conferences and programs, we have to again inquire what our readers are most interested in learning and reading about. We want to solicit the content that is most useful to you. Library and Information Technology is changing at a very fast rate and we want to consider the most meaningful content we can solicit.

Let us hear from you – we would love to have a readers' advisory column,or opinion piece. Being relevant is our goal.

Julia Gelfand(jgelfand@uci.edu)Mitchell Brown(mcbrown@uci.edu)Co-editors