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…

Ask Here PA is Pennsylvania's new statewide live chat reference and information service. This article discusses the key strategies utilized by Ask Here PA administrators to recruit participating libraries to contribute staff time to the service, the importance of centralized staff training, the main aspects of staff training, and activating the…

Systems and networks have been a fact of life in Indiana for several years. The Area Library Services Authority, the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority, the Indiana Union List of Serials, the statewide TWX network, and others are documented with emphasis on the participation of specialized libraries. (Author)

The first step in establishing a statewide library network in Minnesota is to seek passage of enabling legislation which would create a single network for all types of state libraries. Membership in the network should be voluntary, and control of budgets, staffs, and collections should remain at the local level. Creation of such statewide networks…

Based on a Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) study mandated by Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 347, Laws of 1979, this publication recommends that state aid to public library system resource libraries be increased by 10%, with the funds to be used strictly for resource library collection development. Issues examined during the study…

Prepared by the Statewide Automation Committee of the New York State Education Department, this plan outlines strategic directions for library automation development in New York, as supported by state and federal funds, through the year 1989. This plan comprises 20 recommendations for accomplishing a three-part automation program: (1) statewide…

Findings and recommendations are reported by three subcommittees charged with determining the unmet needs of the Illinois Library and Information Network (ILLINET) and establishing a set of priorities that must be completed before the needs can be met. The report also addresses the responsibilities of cooperating libraries at all levels within the…

Drafted by the New Jersey State Library, this legislative proposal presents detailed provisions for the governance and support of a state library network. It creates a hierarchical networking structure to include libraries of all types, defines services and programs to be administered, and establishes administrative and funding mechanisms.…

Describes the Library Computer System, an online circulation system used in 22 Illinois libraries, that features complete holdings and circulation status information for serials and monographs. Problems in the network environment, plans for modification, and reasons why the system works are identified. References and two additional readings are…

Designed by the library community and approved by the Maryland Advisory Council on Libraries, the Maryland Library Association, and the State Board of Education, this master plan establishes directions and targets for meeting the library needs of Maryland citizens for the next five years. The result of a series of formal and informal meetings of…

Intended to provide background information for a special advisory commission created by the state legislature to study the desirability of a state library networking system, this series of 12 papers prepared by the staff librarians of the Virginia State Library summarizes the workings of various network programs, techniques for implementing them,…

This policy based on the principle that all types of libraries and users stand to benefit from increased cooperation was adopted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in 1979. The development and support of both formal and informal cooperative arrangements is encouraged as a means to facilitate resource sharing among all schools within…

This paper prepared for the Task Force on the Role of School Library Media Programs in Networking reviews the role of networking in such programs, lists the objectives of networking for library consortia, and discusses such topics as the benefits and disadvantages of participation in these organizations, prerequisites and criteria for networking,…

Successful models of statewide library consortia are evident in many locations. Academic libraries in independent institutions of higher education in Mississippi must seek alternate affiliations since they do not participate in the MAGNOLIA consortium for public institutions. What does the future hold, especially for database licensing for…

This summary report of the Governor's Conference in Colorado which preceded the White House Conference on Library and Information Services provides brief descriptions of such pre-conference activities as regional meetings, "speak-outs" on local issues, and the preparation of position papers by professional library groups, as well as an…