Presents a network design and development plan for a flexible, distributed client-server network of resource sharing libraries in Illinois. The plan's development in phases, design constraints and alternatives, migration strategy, and components are explained. Application of the model to other statewide or regional networks is suggested. (Contains…

Discusses the rationale, methodology, capabilities and problems of a local area network created for the Library Consortium of Health Institutions in Buffalo, using a multi-user microcomputer. The rationale and design of a new network, designed to better meet information and compatibility requirements, are described and suggestions to network…

Defines the basis of successful networking as the provision of financial relief and functional benefit. The services provided by OCLC, regional networks, and local area networks are examined using these criteria, and a scenario of an ideal network is presented. (10 references) (CLB)

Describes the Basic Health Sciences Library Network (BHSL), a multistate interlibrary loan network that operates without direct charges to its 460 member libraries or federal or state funding. Loan activity for 1992 resulted in collective savings of $592,672. The BHSL model can be applied to any group using a common locator tool. (Contains 17…

This document provides a detailed design for the data portion of the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC) public library network. The data network is based on Frame Relay technology, and would provide more functionality at a higher speed than a previously considered dial-in network could. The document is divided into 16 sections: (1) Introduction;…

A distributed union catalog is a network of bibliographic systems that cooperate to enable their users to discover sites that hold copies of known items. Some participating systems will be traditional union catalogs, others will be single sites with comprehensive collections, and others will be local or regional resource sharing systems. A…

The virtual Canadian union catalog (vCuc) project is a project among Canadian libraries to use Z39.50 (an information protocol standard) for searching distributed individual library catalogs and union catalogs. This paper summarizes the major technical, vendor, bibliographic data, and administrative issues that must be resolved before the…

Examines the dilemmas of participation in resource sharing library networks and proposes solutions based on shifting inducements toward contribution by remunerating the contributing library for the unit cost of original cataloging. A "contribution pricing" model recently announced by OCLC is also evaluated as a possible solution. (21…

Traces the development of library networking over the last 20 years, and examines the current attitude toward an integrated national network. The political and economic problems of the Linked Systems Project are discussed, as well as issues relating to copyright. (10 references) (Author/CLB)

Explores the impact of networks and shared library resources on the library planning process. Environmental scanning techniques, the need for cooperative planning, and the formulation of strategies to achieve networking goals are discussed. (CLB)

Undertaken at the request of the Ad Hoc Statewide Automation Committee, this report provides a common understanding for Maine librarians of current library networking and how it might apply to Maine. The current status of Maine libraries and their cooperative and automation activities is summarized; resource-sharing in other states is examined;…

Reviews the role of library networks in improved access to resources, increased productivity, and cost effectiveness. The impact of electronic information on these functions is discussed, and strategies for effectively networking electronic information are presented. (1 reference) (CLB)

The first of two articles describes the development of a protocol for interlibrary loan communications by the National Library of Canada, and discusses the benefits derived from standards that allow libraries using different communications equipment to exchange messages. The second discusses the impact of the standardized protocol on…

Presents a view of interlibrary cooperation as practiced, discussing the organizational components of successful cooperation, the history and current state of cooperation, and the future of cooperation in American libraries. Uses as one example, OhioLINK, a statewide consortium of academic libraries designed to move materials between Ohio…

Describes the background of the Linked Systems Project, which is designed to link existing bibliographic utilities into a national system of machine-readable bibliographic data and discusses directions being taken by the library community and why the OSI architecture was selected as the system protocol. (CLB)