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Education Libraries Volume 29, No.1 Summer 2006  4 

 
 
 
Thinking inside the box. 
 
Academic librarians have a deep respect for the entity we call information. We value the ideas that the 
creators set forth, and we acknowledge the significance of the “container” of that information, be it 
physical or electronic. As any cataloguer about hardback vs. paperback vs. digital versions of a novel – 
let alone illustration variations, abridgements, revisions, and so forth. The new FRBR guidelines codify 
those relationships, and provide an intellectual concept map of the development and manifestation of 
ideas and information. 
 
Furthermore, academic librarians gleefully delve into those containers. We love to ferret out factoids, 
compare entries, extract relevant charts, and choose signature art examples. We produce bibliographies 
about whole documents (including web sites) as well as items within them, such as Book Lover Quotes. 
We create web portals that link the user to pre-selected sources. 
 
Nevertheless, academic librarians tend not to deconstruct those containers, or disembowel ideas from 
their documental entities. We store and retrieve, but we do not change the information as it is presented. 
We tend not to be anthologists. We tend not to create information. 

 
That mentality has been shifting. Academic librarians have produced publications: library histories, 
research studies, information literacy tutorials, and the like. With the advent of electronic publications, 
producing and packaging  information has become more common. Digital formats facilitate repurposing 
the same information, morphing an outline into a PowerPoint presentation or hyperlinked webpage, as 
needed. As long as the information sources is credited (“anchoring” it) and intellectual property rights are 
observed, academic librarians are seeing advantages of combining and synthesizing ideas/information 
per se as a value-added service for their users. We are thinking in and across boxes. 

 
The articles in this issue look at electronic information packaging. Both were inspired by recent library 
conferences. The SLA conference in Baltimore featured several sessions on RSS feeds, blogs, and wikis. 
Karen Huffman’s presentation on National Geographic Society’s ventures into library broadcasts was 
fascinating – and the source of the following article. ALA’s annual conference highlighted library digital 
efforts and techno-marketing. Of special interest was the research librarians’ meeting, which focused on 
ejournal concerns. Follow-up to a technical services meeting at ALA led to Susan Karplus’s analysis of 
learning management systems use by academic librarians. The dynamic duo Bober and Wade offer 
related websites. The reviews also pack a lot of information too, thanks to our faithful contributors. 

 
The next two theme issues for Education Libraries? The new world of information organization 
(November 15 deadline) AND outreach (March 15 deadline). Plan ahead.