Editorial: Creating the Future, Preserving the Past

The responsibilities of my position as head of Central Technical Services for Rutgers University Libraries include oversight for acquisitions, cataloging, and the creation of non-MARC metadata for digital projects. Like many libraries, my institution has experienced budget cuts that have reduced the number of print materials that can be acquired and made accessible to our user community. Although a great deal of information is now provided electronically, we continue to acquire print resources for many reasons. For example, science selectors have argued that chemical equations and other figures are easier to read in print and do not display well in e-books. Other disciplines, such as art history, are better served by print. Smaller presses might not be able to afford to publish electronically and only provide print titles.