The digital library has emerged as a result of advances in computing and information systems technologies. It is a direct response to the needs of users who demand access to a growing amount of information. Digital libraries provide a key benefit over traditional libraries by reducing the barriers of time and place. Access to services is enabled regardless of when and where the users are located as long as they are able to establish network connections between their host systems and the digital library. Digital libraries address the same basic needs as their traditional counterparts, which include searching and accessing collections of information. However, the traditional library also serves as a setting for social interaction, a dimension of use that developers of digital libraries have largely ignored until now. This paper describes a new effort within an established digital library research program to address concerns about the loss of social interaction within the larger, more complex digital libraries and networked information systems now being developed. The Interspace Prototype, an example of a complex networked information system, is currently under development at the University of Illinois. This paper describes one of the Interspace Prototype's sub-components, the Interspace Collaborative Environment, which will provide direct support for community, collaboration, and communication.