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SUMMARY
As many librarians are beginning to acknowledge, the most enduring legacy an institution has to offer the world is its original or unique materials. Digital applications allow the distribution of content on a scale unthinkable a decade ago. The Northern Arizona University Cline Library leapt into the digital fray in 1995 with a pilot Web-based imaging database project http://www.nau.edu/library/speccoll/imagedb.html, drawn from a collection of 750,000 historic photographs. Cline Library staff have now turned their attention to the development of a content-driven database that will provide public Internet access to all archival material held at NAU. This article describes the benefits of such a robust tool and the challenges associated with melding archival practice, reference services, and available technology.