Moving into the Digital Age

Abstract

ABSTRACT Libraries have developed methods and processes for collecting, processing, providing access to, and preserving paper publications. As publishing shifts from printed to digital form, libraries need to rethink and revise systems to handle the ever-increasing flow of digital publications. These challenges are being addressed by the State Library of North Carolina as it attempts to manage digital state government publications, which have characteristics similar to most gray literature now produced on the Internet. This article discusses changes in cataloging and workflow designed to accommodate the increased amount of digital information and presents a model for managing digital publications in the context of state government publications. The conceptual model covers six aspects of a publication's management: creation, collection, description, storage, access, and preservation.