Panelists in this session discussed the strategies that they have used to meet the organizational and management needs of their digital library projects. For example, DSpace, a joint project of MIT Libraries and the Hewlett-Packard Company, is being developed to provide stable long-term storage needed to house digital works produced by MIT faculty, researchers, centers and labs, in a variety of format. Its representative will discuss the projects efforts to collaborate with a corporation and to create a viable business plan for the project. The Library of Virginia's Digital Library Program is an internationally recognized effort to preserve, digitize, and provide access to significant archival and library collections, with a focus on materials from Virginia. Additional panelists from other major digital library projects will discuss their efforts to coordinate and manage these programs from an organizational perspective.

The panelists in this session discussed a variety of issues relating to the organization and management of specific digital libraries in which they have been involved. Ms. Roderick presented on the progression of the Library of Virginia's Digital Library Program. She discussed the program’s costs and what to consider in developing a budget, the importance of preliminary tasks such as developing selection criteria, the need for centralized management, and various tips for planning and operating a program within one’s organizational context. She also reported on the recent dismantling of the program due to state budget cuts.

Ms. Branschofsky provided the perspective of DSpace, the institutional repository for MIT’s digital research materials, a joint project of MIT Libraries and the Hewlett-Packard Company. She discussed some of the management challenges of the project, including: working with various disciplines with different cultures, dealing with copyright and intellectual property issues, developing a business plan to build cost models for running DSpace, creating a management structure and maintenance strategy, and federating the project.