Abstract:

<B>Purpose</B> - To highlight the potential of web services for libraries. <B>Design/methodology/approach</B> - A brief description of web services is followed by a discussion of the importance of web service standards and the role of initiatives to encourage the development and use of such standards in libraries. <B>Findings</B> - Web services offer many advantages to the library community, but the majority of these advantages will only be realised if web services are standardised. <B>Originality/value</B> - This paper is a call to the library community to prevent the proliferation of proprietary web services by supporting the development and use of standard web services.

Keywords: Libraries; Standards; Worldwide web

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1108/10650750610640739