The increase in interlibrary loan (ILL) service, the desire of more institutions to share resources, and the unstable nature of grant funds to support such activity, led the Metropolitan Detroit Medical Library Group (MDMLG) to adopt a formal voluntary interlibrary loan agreement in 1970. In brief, the agreement states that borrowing libraries…

Discusses issues facing librarianship in the People's Republic of China based on observations by a delegation of American and Canadian librarians in 1985. Highlights include the impact of the Cultural Revolution, collection development strategies, user needs and barriers to use, outreach to special populations, networking and resource sharing, and…

Representatives from wide spectrum of cooperative programs discuss issues associated with cooperative library development. Programs described include statewide projects in Colorado, Illinois, Alaska, and New York; University of California Shared Purchase Program; Hampshire Inter-Library Center; Triangle Research Libraries Network; Pacific…

Presents overview of developments that have taken place in academic libraries in Iraq and their potential for fulfilling academic community needs. Highlights include educational system, library education, library systems, staff and their status, library services and orientation, library council, library cooperation, professional associations, and…

Forecasts of the future of the public library highlight measures of success (quick information provision); service to remote users; an information infrastructure which includes smaller branch libraries; levels of service based on staff time required; fee-based, interactive research services; a new job title of "information specialist"; and book…

Presents remarks of the Secretary of State and State Librarian of Illinois concerning the Illinois Library and Information Network (ILLINET) which was created in 1965. Effective use of developing technology (online catalogs, interlibrary loan, automated circulation systems, collection development), anticipating changing needs of library users, and…

Profiles the New England Library Information Network (NELINET), whose purpose is to serve as focal point for achievement of cost effective library automation through shared resources. Origins of NELINET are highlighted as well as NELINET services, including archival tapes, role as OCLC broker network, cost effectiveness, and successful use of new…

Describes West Virginia Statewide Automation and Networking Plan, a single fully integrated and interfaced system, which links resources of public, college, and special libraries to users either in libraries or otherwise throughout state. Virginia Tech Library System software and off-the-shelf hardware and the network, telecommunications, costs,…

Profiles the Cooper Union Library, a private academic library specializing in architecture, art, and engineering that celebrated its 125th anniversary in fall 1984. Highlights include a biographical sketch of the college's founder, Peter Cooper; construction of the building; curriculum changes; library services and materials; and cooperative and…

Summarizes status of academic libraries at beginning of 1980s in relationship to changes in broader society and technologies powering new communication networks (computers, video, teletext and videotex); outlines strategies for educating future library professionals; and forecasts how technologies might impact academic library beyond present…

Describes Tennessee Technological University Library's participation in test of a network's local online services, i.e., database maintenance, authority control, reference support/patron access. Online catalog, training, patron access points, transactions and response time, database maintenance activities, bibliographic and authority record…

A simplified account of an extensive library automation and networking project that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation initiated and funded in the Czech and Slovak republics is provided in this paper. The proposal to establish "The Czech and Slovak Library Information Network" (CASLIN) commenced in January 1993. Storage, document…

This paper discusses public library services to remote communities in Australia, focusing on New South Wales (NSW). The first section presents background on the public library network in NSW, including statistics, descriptors/characteristics of public libraries, and funding to establish public Internet access. The second section addresses regional…

This report describes Biblored, the library network in Bogota, Colombia, that received the 2002 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award. Biblored is a network of 19 libraries that attract about 200,000 users per month and serve some of the poorest neighborhoods in Bogota. The network's success in making information and…

This paper discusses changes in services, technology, and organization as libraries prepare to enter the "network-centric library world." Part 1 addresses the transition from the analog era to the digital age, and the convergence of libraries and education, including opportunities for library leadership in Internet access, digital…