Over time, the Regional Library Systems Act has succeeded in its aim to widen and improve access to library services for all Maine residents. Today, students in the smallest high schools and users of the most remote public libraries can plug into the resources of the largest public libraries in the state and draw on the services of their…

Discussion of library networking issues that may be relevant to Japanese and U.S. libraries as they increase their use of central databases and local systems includes the role of the traditional library, distributed systems, linked systems, and the emergence of commercial systems. (Author/CLB)

The Business, Education & Community On-line Network (BEACON) is designed to support development and implementation of demonstration applications operating in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) fiber optic network environment. Initial origination and destination sites include high schools and universities around Rock Hill (South Carolina). The…

Although Spanish interlibrary loans (ILL) have increased from 100 to 525 per 100,000 inhabitants, there are still many problems to resolve. Examines a plan developed by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) Library Network to improve ILL services. Provides a comparative analysis of ILL services from 1992-1995. Includes charts…

Discusses the general benefits of library networking in terms of selection, acquisition, organization, storage of and access to information, and the specific benefits of and barriers to special library networks. Examples of networking by special librarians are given, and suggestions are made for special librarians wishing to participate in formal…

Discusses the goals of library networks in terms of sharing scarce resources and improving user access to information, and advocates cooperative library planning to enhance these goals, including interlibrary activities and multitype library systems. (CLB)

To study the effect of fees for interlibrary resource sharing, data were collected on all requests made to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) during a period when no charges were in effect (representing a normal baseline); during a period when the charges were announced, but not assessed; and during a period in which charges were in…

Describes the restructuring of a traditional Interlibrary Loan Department at the Auraria Library, University of Colorado at Denver, into Information Delivery/Interlibrary Loan (ID/ILL) and its move to Collection Development Services. Discusses cost-effectiveness of ownership versus access; the collection philosophy; and components of the ID/ILL…

Telecommunications networks were placed in 16 rural high school library media centers in 12 southside Virginia counties. With these units, the high school media centers are able to access the online public access catalog at Longwood College, the Lancaster Library's VTLS (Virginia Tech Library System) database. If a needed book is found, a request…

Describes a program of national collection building designed to provide universal availability of publications in the Federal Republic of Germany in the context of historical traditions, the development of a cooperative acquisition program, financial support, and methodological aspects of the system. (CLB)

The Wyoming Academic Libraries Resource Project was initiated to improve cooperation and resource sharing by developing an interconnected information access and delivery system among Wyoming's academic libraries and the State Library. The goal was to formalize communication, cooperation, and resource sharing by developing an Ariel document…

A collection of eight articles discusses resource sharing in a variety of settings. Highlights include: community networks, document delivery in library consortia, Internet access for schools, automation and resource sharing at community college libraries, lending of special collections materials, cooperative rural library services, and web sites…

This document describes an investigation designed to examine the possibilities for using both existing and new technologies to increase and enhance public service capabilities at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library, and to recommend an ongoing mechanism for assessing priorities for the application of technology in the…

Describes three projects implemented by the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale's library that are designed to empower the patron: (1) patron-initiated borrowing; (2) Interlibrary Loan Link on FirstSearch databases; and (3) implementation of Web-based interlibrary loan request forms. Explains the role of institutional support and…

Describes the library of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Netherlands, explains its collaboration with other scientific libraries, and discusses the results of a survey of users that was conducted to determine document delivery needs. Highlights include interlibrary loan requests, information suppliers, methods of access, and price.…