This edited collection is drawn from the seventh Libraries Without Walls Conference, held in 2007. From their beginnings in 1995, the Libraries Without Walls conferences have mapped a major change in the practice of librarianship. While library services are still concerned to provide users with physical access to their buildings, electronic access - often from remote locations - is becoming ever more dominant. Library services are being integrated into virtual learning, research and personal environments. In 2007 CERLIM wished to encourage the widest possible range of papers to reflect the diverse current developments in library service delivery. These covered: New kinds of service, especially those that open up new paradigms of 'library' - perhaps the library equivalent of YouTube or MySpace The library's role within new models of scholarly publishing, including experience of developing services based on institutional or other repositories, and the responsibility of the library for digital curation Service delivery in challenging environments, especially where the infrastructure may be sub-optimal, as in some developing countries, or where the user group represents particular challenges New technological solutions and the impact on users of the improved services they make possible Delivery and assessment of information skills/literacies, especially where this is achieved through electronic environments. These state-of-the-art papers are designed to increase understanding of the role and importance of information in the learning process, and to enable information professionals and course developers to keep abreast of the latest developments in this vital area.

"Proceedings of an international conference held on 14-18 September 2001, organized by the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management (CERLIM), Manchester Metropolitan University."

This state of the art collection will enable library managers and information professionals in all sectors to keep abreast of the latest developments in this vital area.

Lifelong learning is becoming reality throughout the world, requiring that learning opportunities and materials are delivered to citizens in their locality, at home or at work. Increasing numbers of students are undertaking distance education programmes and libraries are being called upon to find innovative ways to support distance learners. Developments in technology are creating new possibilities for document delivery and the distributed virtual library.