Backups are a modern fact of life. Every organization that has any kind of computing technology (and that is all of them these days) needs to back up its data in case of technological or user errors. Traditionally, large-scale backups have been done via an internal or external tape drive that takes magnetic tapes (minicassettes, essentially) and…

As libraries face a veritable explosion of electronic resources and as the interconnectedness of print and online resources becomes increasingly complicated, many librarians are challenged to find efficient and cost-friendly ways to manage these resources. In this article, the authors describe how a team of people from various library departments…

In October 2009, California Digital Library (CDL), where the author serves as manager of strategic and project planning, jumped into the world of social networking by joining Twitter. From Twitter, the CDL staff publish the content of their monthly newsletter, "CDLINFO News," and also additional content created by CDL programs and…

In this article, the authors provide a guide in acquiring content management system. They conducted a vendor survey that covers four areas: (1) general information about the product (including standards supported); (2) administration of the product; (3) functionality; and (4) contact information for readers who want to know more. A list of product…

In this article, the author describes his experience when Kathy Nichols contacted him seeking suggestions, recommendations--really anything he could think of--that might help her seize control of a bewildering and rapidly surging torrent of digital image files. The challenges that Nichols described interested him, and he felt they might be…