Cornell University Library
Annual Report 1998-1999
Objectives for 1999-2000

Highlights of the past year

goal 1: Provide outstanding service to the university in support of Cornell's information needs by integrating traditional and digital resources and services.

The Library Gateway enjoyed continued growth as an access point to the online catalog and networked resources. The Gateway is significant because it offers easy access to a rich and expanding suite of electronic databases in a unified fashion through a unified effort by Library staff. Developed out of the Mann Gateway, the Library Gateway is maintained and enhanced by Mann Library staff for the benefit of the entire Library system. Over 33 million accesses to 13 million files were logged in the past twelve months, with usage peaking in April at an average of 138,000 hits daily. Approximately 1700 electronic resources with annual licenses exceeding $900,000 are indexed in the Gateway. To improve the Gateway functionality, the Library conducted focus groups of faculty, students, and library staff. Following the appearance of an article on Cornell's development of the Gateway in Library Resources and Technical Services, members of the Gateway Committee were invited to speak on their achievement at McMaster University and at a NYLINK conference in Rochester.