Austin, Texas
May 18-20, 1994
Robert Berdahl
University of Texas
In a recent article, Harold Billings, Director of Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin, used the metaphor of the Ark in discussing current preservation issues confronting libraries. I would like to extend the metaphor of the boat to things navigational--as does this meeting's program, which will offer such topics as "Navigating the Library Without Walls."
You are well aware that the route toward tomorrow's library is not clearly marked; much charting and mapping remains. Navigation will be problematic. Today there are probably a dozen different routes or combination of routes that all seem attractive. At intervals, all of these routes will be strewn with massive fiscal barriers, outcroppings of copyright controversy, and an occasional technological or social detour.
Last week, as I was contemplating this meeting and the issues it was to address, I came upon an article in The New York Times. The article had to do with how the brain locates, or "navigates" if you will, toward the source of sound. I was struck by the similarity in how the human brain works toward mapping together its assets to locate the source of sound and the manner in which scholars, teachers, and information specialists today are working together to map new information avenues.
The article suggests that in the brain there are "...networks of neurons that carry out subspecialized tasks...[these neurons] all fire together for brief instants to give rise to complete perceptions. Once the perception is complete, the networks fall back into separate components where they can be reactivated in difference combinations."
A multitude of neurons and their different combinations make it all possible. And for researchers and teachers of tomorrow, we envision a similar synchrony: the multitude of information formats and accessing options and their different combinations coming together for brief instants, whenever necessary, to give rise to those "complete perceptions" that researchers seek.
It is a pleasure for the University of Texas at Austin to serve as host institution for your gathering. I wish you well in mapping the course for us today and for future researchers.