This article uses the case study of developing a collaborative "out-of-hours" virtual enquiry service by members of the Northern Collaboration Group of academic libraries in the north of England to explore the importance of communication and collaboration between academic library services in enhancing student learning. Set within the…

The technology of the 21st century has had no shortage of challenges for libraries, but it has also brought opportunities. Operating systems, databases, and application environments that can use cheap off-the-shelf hardware to scale and handle hundreds of millions of transactions were not developed for libraries. However, libraries have taken…

Collaboration empowers everyone in different ways: in the school setting it brings partnerships with colleagues and relevance to the cycle of ongoing instructional improvement; in a regional setting it provides an understanding of the various facets that make up an exemplary library media program along with the challenges of the classroom. The…

In August 2007, an $11.2 million proposal for a shared statewide high-density storage facility was submitted to the Board of Governors, the governing body of the State University System in Florida. The project was subsequently approved at a slightly lower level and funding was delayed until 2010/2011. The experiences of coordinating data…

Libraries need to weigh the benefits, usage, and cost-effectiveness of owning collections against seeking alternatives to deliver the information needed by customers. The University of Arizona Library investigated different approaches for meeting the research needs of East Asian Studies faculty and students under great pressure of physical space…

Purpose: This paper seeks to look into Gabriel--the Worldwide web server for those European national libraries represented in the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL), providing a single point of access on the internet for the retrieval of information about their functions, services and collections. Above all, it serves as a gateway…

Describes use of personal computer connected to large, multilibrary bibliographic system (Illinois' Library Computer System network) to model an analysis of record duplication across entire system. The pilot project, compressed records, the test database utilizing records from four libraries, and the matching scheme are discussed. Five sources are…

Discusses the origin and reports on the progress of Project RARE (Rochester Area Resource Exchange), a pilot program initiated by the New York State Regents in 1978 to promote the sharing of resources among public and nonpublic school libraries in the state. (LLS)

Describes Kentucky libraries' participation in a pilot project allowing dial-up access to LOCIS (Library of Congress Information System). The two elements of LOCIS, SCORPIO (Subject-Content-Oriented-Retriever-for-Processing-Information Online) and MUMS (Multiple Use MARC System) are explained, and the use of LOCIS for reference, cataloging, and…

Since its humble beginning, Digital Past, a centralized local history digitization initiative at the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), a multitype consortium in Wheeling, Illinois, has now grown into a large centralized collaboration that consists of 32 libraries and a museum as its primary contributors. With Digital Past, there are various…

Recounts the development of a regional intersystem school and public library network in downstate New York, called INTERSHARE, and outlines the activities and considerations that went into the production of an online union catalog by the participating libraries. (JL)

Describes experimental 2-year pilot project conducted at 21 randomly selected community libraries in Los Angeles County Public Library system to test feasibility and measure results of a children's services proposal. The proposed year-round reading program is designed to meet needs of changing academic programs in schools and changing juvenile…

The article describes a partnership between two of the libraries at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) through which two staff in one library worked part-time at the other during the summer of 2006 in order to maximize staffing efficiency among the units, as well as to realize professional development-related goals for the staff…

This series of articles describes and evaluates the use of facsimile transmission for document delivery in five major library projects, which include state- and countywide networks of public, academic, and medical libraries. Performance factors discussed include equipment, cost effectiveness, and user satisfaction. (CLB)

Describes the implementation of a telefacsimile plan used for interlibrary loan messaging and document delivery, and evaluates the system in terms of volume and quality of transmissions, turnaround time, costs and human resources, and equipment operation. The benefits and potential of telefacsimile for interlibrary loans are summarized.…