Hybridity, Mutability, Multiplicity: Theorizing Electronic Library Collections

ANINCREASINGLY COMPLEX ARRAY OF ELECTRONIC OBJECTS is challenging conventional categories and distinctions central to library organization. Extraordinary efforts are being made to integrate these hybrids and new forms into traditional library systems and to recreate the stability of the print environment. This article is an attempt to explore some of the conceptual and theoretical issues raised by the proliferation of electronic objects and to suggest that the current situation calls for a reconceptualization of collection development and bibliographic access.