Expanding OPACs: Steven Bowers, Detroit Area Library Network

Steven Bowers, director of the 20-member Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET), wants to expand library collections and digital projects to include materials created by the interactive online community. That's whyhe enabled librarians to incorporate YouTube videos and make them viewable within the online catalog, with full MARC records, ultimately increasing public access to valuable digital data. DALNET's own pilot project began with videos of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches, which were made available through member libraries' catalogs.

Bowers further expanded the definition of “OPAC” (online public access catalog) by developing the first online catalog for the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn (a new member of DALNET). He designed a search portal of Arab American community resources, including web sites and directory information.

Whatever he's working on, he believes that libraries must incorporate current technologies and resources to remain relevant. “Web 2.0 makes the online community of the world the new information resource,” he says.