The library practices and procedures in this new horizon are, therefore,
changing at a much faster pace. New technologies and tools are changing the
services that libraries provide. Traditional measures do not capture these
changes or their implications. The cumultive effect of these changes appears to
be a reformulation of the library's mission. The freely accessible information
on the web, in consort with the escalating cost of library materials,
jeopardizes the trad mission of libraries to create and sustain large
self-sufficient collections for their users. The cost of access appears to be
more affordable than the cost of ownership, though it comes with the
accompanying risk of loss,