New Information Marketplace Competitors: Issues and Strategies for Academic Libraries

Abstract

Administrative portals, e-braries, and other commercial information providers are challenging the academic library's traditional monopoly as the campus information gateway. Are these new information marketplace competitors a threat or an opportunity for academic libraries? Might they draw away the library's user base or can they be harnessed to provide access to more and better digital collections? This article examines the impact of these new competitors, presents results from a survey of library directors about their responses to information competition, and discusses strategies library directors can use to maintain the library's status as the user's first choice of information provider.