The Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) is a collaborative online learning environment
that involves LIS faculty and students as well as working librarians around the world. Over
the past twelve years, the IPL has become more collaborative with the introduction of new
technologies and cultural changes. The IPL team consists of a variety of people from
around the world: LIS faculty, IPL staff librarians, masters and doctoral students, working
librarians, and technology specialists. Through the IPL, library and information
professionals are being prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the digital
environment: the dynamic nature of information technology, changing social and cultural
norms, and an abundance of freely available content are presented in the digital reference
environment. Extensive training material has been prepared by the IPL staff and feedback
is provided to students by IPL staff, faculty and volunteers. In addition to the learning
environment, the IPL also offers a test bed for research related to collaborative online
learning environments. For examples, questions such as the role of Web 2.0 resources such
as Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace and other social computing sites will be explored