Libraries dream in digital

"The digital, virtual, or electronic library, sometimes called the library 'without walls' inevitably threatens the traditional library" (Pawley 2). This statement is a concern that many librarians and preservationists share in a world of looming digitization. However, while there is justification for this concern, there is a way for both the physical and the digital to work together. Among the support that there can be harmony between these two realms of information is the fact that, "a digital library does not only consist of digitized and digitally born information resources, but also of electronic metadata on non-digital objects" (Pawley 6). This consideration for 'non-digital' objects helps blend the different information mediums through the effort to take the methods of old and integrate them within the new systems of cataloging and research support. Although there is a risk that the converted digitized information may reduce user interaction with the physical items, it can also be viewed that having digital access to the catalog information of a physical item can in turn make it more appealing and convenient for the user to access data beyond the limits of their computer. In other words, going digital may very well preserve and better market the physical.