Enriching the Internet: The Library's Role as Creator of Electronic Information

Abstract

This paper addresses several experiments that the UIC Library has undertaken to shape how information is presented on the Internet, covering four projects begun under the Great Cities Initiative at UIC; areas for other partnerships are identified. The four projects: a partnership with the Chicago Public Library to make information about the Library and the City available to eight branches of the CPL and Internet visitors from 30 countries; a contract with the U.S. Department of State to provide State Department information worldwide that has resulted in more than 4000 full-text items being fully indexed and distributed via Gopher and the World Wide Web more 300,000 times each month; a project with the Pemberton Press to provide selected articles from its four library journals, plus tables of contents, author's guidelines and other information; and a collaboration with the Illinois State Archives to distribute access to local databases, such as the Federal Land Sales in Illinois.