This report attempts a preliminary evaluation of the experiences of libraries and archives with digitization programs to date and a summary of what has been learned about the advantages and disadvantages of digitizing culturally significant materials. It examines how digital resources behave differently from the analog collections we are used to, such as books, manuscripts, and photographic images, and how the research experience may be changed by using a digital surrogate. The report explores the ways that digitization extends exponentially the reach of library materials, and calls for institutions to work collaboratively in planning what items to put on the Internet, so that col]ections on the Web complement each other and enhance research opportunities. The author emphasizes that digital conversion provides extraordinary access, but it is not a means of preservation. -- CCI=IC