This paper discusses the impact national initiatives have had on individual higher education libraries in the United Kingdom (UK). Written from the perspective of an institutional library manager, the paper examines the interface between local electronic library provision and national developments. Individual institutions have been active in taking forward the electronic library agenda both with and without earmarked government funding, but often the way in which this has been managed has been strongly influenced by the national strategy. The practical challenge has been to integrate locally provided digital resources with national resources and existing traditional library resources in a coherent way for users. Examples of different ways in which this has been done are discussed, particularly in relation to the University of Nottingham (England) and other research libraries. New ways of working in library services have also been developed in many institutions, often accelerated by national initiatives. These include adopting project-based working, developing multi-skilled teams, and forming institutional consortia. The consequences of this are examined. UK-wide and institutional developments have thus far been most important, but there are now an increasing number of regional initiatives that are having an impact on library developments. These are briefly discussed. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/MES)