20世纪90年代初,美国科学家首次提出数字图书馆(D igital L ibrary)这一概念。如今,数字图书馆已成为世界各国图书馆研究和发展的重大课题。本文通过研究和分析数字图书馆的特征以及建设过程中遇到的问题,对数字图书馆的发展方向进行了论述和预测。 In the early 1990s, American scientists first proposed the concept of digital library. Today, the digital library has become a major issue in the research and development of libraries all over the world. In this paper, by studying and analyzing the characteristics of digital library and the problems encountered in the process of construction, the development direction of digital library is discussed and predicted.