Digital libraries and their user communities are increasingly internat ional in nature. However - though technological progress and global education have brought American and European communities closer - cross-cultural and other crosscutting issues impede the formation of &lquo;world community&rquo; on larger scales. The pertinent issues include: collaboration in the presence of language and cultural barriers, international copyrights, international revenue streams, and universal access. This panel will examine notions of "community" from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives, and discuss lessons that can be gleaned from applications of the community concept. Topics are expected to include scalability, sustainability, regenerative cycles in healthy communities, and examples of digital-library efforts that have international potential or implications.