In the last years the process of generating, disseminating, and archiving new knowledge has changed fundamentally. Beside the increasing amount of new knowledge that needs to be processed, new paradigms and tools for search, access, and exchange have evolved: digital information is discovered, interlinked with curated databases, commented upon, adapted, and shared in Web-based collaborative infrastructures. Recently this need has also been recognized by prominent European funding agencies sparking new funding lines, e.g., the specialized information services program of the German Research Foundation. But is this just the latest hype or a long needed change in library culture? We will discuss this question and see what it means for digital library research.