To Lead to Learning, Not to Madness: E-Books and E-Serials at the Library of Congress

Abstract

Building a library’s collection requires more than collecting print materials and shelving them in the stacks. The growth of e-books and e-serials over the past decade has been phenomenal. Given the scope of its collection building, the Library of Congress (LOC) has been required to actively pursue the acquisition and management of e-books and e-serials in its permanent collection. This article surveys how the LOC has taken advantage of existing structures and how it has pursued new paths to succeed in this undertaking. Finally, it lays out some of the outstanding problems that the LOC faces as it attempts to build a digital equivalent to its print collection.