In recent years, evolving communication technologies have produced dramatic changes in howscholars communicate. Through mechanisms such as e-mail, wireless networks, and mobilecommunication networks, the volume of information that scholars can send—and the range ofpeople to whom information can be sent—are radically different today than they were forprevious generations. These changes in communicative capacity raise expectations of whatscholars can accomplish. One source of raised expectations is the possibility for dynamic,large-scale, geographically dispersed collaboratories that evolving communicationtechnologies allow. The promise is that large groups of researchers, working together, cangenerate insights more effectively and efficiently than they would if they worked alone oronly with people in their own geographic proximity.