This document discusses resource sharing and networking among libraries. It notes that no single library can satisfy all user needs, leading to the concept of library cooperation through activities like interlibrary loans. The advent of information and communication technologies has created new opportunities for greater cooperation through library consortia. Resource sharing involves reciprocity where members contribute and share resources, knowledge, data, facilities and information. Factors that help and hinder effective resource sharing are discussed.

1. RESOURCE SHARINGAND NETWORKING

2. INTRODUCTION
• No library is able to satisfy all the needs of its
clientele
• This gave rise to the concept of Library
Cooperation
• The concept is now known as Resource
Sharing
• Library Cooperation remained confined to
inter-library loan
• Even inter-library loan was not being
practised widely

3. • Advent of ICT has opened up new opportunities for
greater cooperation among libraries
• Emergence of Library Consortia is a promising
development for Resource Sharing

4. • Resource sharing signifies a symbol of good
will, and intent to share resources,
knowledge, bibliographical data, facilities
and other fruits of modern technology,
man's ingenuity and the results of
accumulated wealth of knowledge.

5. • Resource sharing in its most positive aspect
entails reciprocity implying a partnership in
which each member has something useful to
contribute to others and which each is
willing and able to make available when
needed.

6. • A degree of democratization of information
in which all information is made a
uniformly available as feasible.
• A steady increase in the ability to serve at
all points of service.

7. • A cooperatively sharing the resources of
many library.

8. • An increasing degree of specialization in
the collection and interest of individual
libraries.
• A sense of responsibility by the individual
libraries to serve others.

9. • Willingness on the part of libraries to
cooperate in a voluntary, but responsible
manner.
• The effective cooperation depends upon
adequate resources, administrative ability,
and efficient communication.

10. Resources that could be shared:
– Space
– Collections (use and development)
– Staff (use and development)
– Technology

11. • Proliferation of literature in each and
every field of knowledge.
• Multiplicity of documents in different
subjects, languages and formats.
• Development of new subjects.

12. Need
• Development of specializations
• Increase in the reading community and
information seekers
• Diversity of user groups and their
information needs

13. Need
• Demand for pinpointed, exhaustive and
expeditious information service.
• Paucity of resources.
• Lack of environment to make use of
available .
• communication technology to achieve
economy and efficiency in library
operations.

14. Need
• The bewildering discoveries in the field of
science and technology leading to Moon
walking is the projected Mars walking and the
analysis of the dust of these planets has opened
the flood gates of knowledge for common man.
• Serve budgetary cuts and financial constraints.
• Emergence and growth of e-publications .

15. • Assist member libraries in the selection of
materials.
• Coordinate cooperative acquisition,
interlibrary loans, and the reproduction of
materials for the member libraries.

16. Objectives
• Stimulate the improvement of library
facilities and services.
• Cooperation in the development of library
personnel.

17. Objectives
• Provide, through cooperative acquisition by
voluntary agreement, material beyond the
reach of individual libraries.
• To achieve standardization and uniformity
in various library Practicals.
• To build bibliographic database and tools
eg., Union Cat.; lists, required for exchange

18. Objectives
• To build other databases like theses,
projects.
• Achieve economy in the use of resources,
both human and material.

19. Objectives
• Reduce wasteful duplication of intellectual
effort and expenses.

20. • Positive attitude of libraries towards
cooperation.
• Leadership of various participating
libraries.
• Advances in computer telecommunication
and reprographic technologies.

21. Factors: help
• Awareness of mutual benefits to be drawn
from cooperation.
• Availabi1ity of adequate and reliable data
about the resources and facilities of the
participating libraries.
• Organizational and Behavioural factors.

22. • Lack of technological sophistication.
Because of network unreliability, erratic
electric supply, limited reprographic
equipments, poor maintenance of them,
inadequate climate control, lack of technical
know how, lack of equipments to use
microfilms, audiovisual media, lack of
computerized services.

23. Factors: Hampers RS
• Physical and economic barriers. Distance &
costs have limited services and hours of
opening have prevented full utilization of
resources, shortage of human, financial,
material resources, postage& shipping
regulations.

24. Factors: Hampers RS
• Censorship of materials was often
arbitrarily administered and restriction for
reasons of religious belief, national security
and other political considerations became
obsessions. Sharing of resources may be
discouraged for economic as well as
political reasons.

25. Factors: Hampers RS
• Sociological/cultural/educational impacts -
high illiteracy and poor motivation to use
services produced varying service objective,
poor presentation of information or lack of
identified need, language barriers, lack of
training and tradition in the use of
information, resistance to change, the
intangibility of many of the benefits of
information access were detractors.

26. Factors: Hampers RS
• Information policies and plans - lack of
suitable infrastructure and established
national information policies produced
conflicting ad-hoc decisions, ineffective
performance of systems, lack of effective
procedures, inadequate bibliographic
control by both book trade and libraries

27. Factors: Hampers RS
• Legal considerations - unnecessary
restrictions and procedures associated
with the use of published materials
including copyright, censorship,
photocopying restrictions.

28. Factors: Hampers RS
• Personal skepticism - prejudice and value
difference held by those responsible for
action promoted suspicion and distrust.

29. Factors: Hampers RS
• Inadequate budget
• Shortage of staff
• Lack of awareness about utility.
• Restrictions in lending library materials to
others.

30. Factors: Hampers RS
• Reluctance to give up ownership (size matters!)
even with, eg, JSTOR.
• Reluctance to take risks.
• Reluctance to compromise (eg on specification for
system)
• Reluctance to provide professional leadership

31. • Documentary resources
• B. Manpower
• C. Technology
• D. Management
• E. Users

32. • Publication of participating
libraries
• Bibliographic access tools
• Special collections of
participating libraries
• Non-book materials

33. • Highly trained library staff to conduct
network process like library automation
(automation of all sections), literature
searching and Database search.

34. • Concept of cooperation changed over to newer
concept network by the advancement in the
technology. Advances in technology increases the
use of telecommunication like telephone, telex,
email etc. Internet connectivity to all participating
libraries is essential component.

35. • Adoption of sound and viable procedure in
management. Flexibility of system to adjust
itself to changing situation, operational
research is essential to optimize the use of
available library resources.

36. • to know their behavior
• to know their demand
• to know their reading habits
• to know their approach to information sources
• to know their feedback mechanism
• to know user satisfaction. Therefore, user
education and training programmes are essential.

37. • Technical services -
Cooperative acquisition
Cooperative classification
Cooperative cataloguing

38. • Cooperative purchase of research
publication and journals will be desirable.
Some specific subject areas on which each
participating library intends concentrating
may also be decided to ensure better
coverage as well as to avoid unnecessary
duplications.

39. Cooperative Acquisition
• A centralized agency should look after all
the process of acquisition according to the
agreement made by the participating
libraries. The agency will find the work
remunerative too since it will be working
for a group of libraries. This will save lot of
correspondence, postage and time of all
libraries.

40. • The libraries may jointly establish on
national or regional level, a centralized
system of classification and cataloguing.
This will help in avoiding useless
duplication of work, wastage of time,
money and human labour.

41. Cooperative clsn & cataloging
• The participating libraries under this system
will employ highly qualified and
experienced staff for technical processing
and share the expense involved. This
cooperative effort with the joint
responsibilities will bring in uniformity and
improvement in quality in the technical
processing of the participating libraries.

42. • Abstracting
• Indexing
• List of current acquisitions (Union List
and Union Catalogue)
• Bibliography of special subject collection
• Translations
• Reprographic services etc

43. SOURCE & RESOURCE
• The concept of Information Resource is often
not defined properly.
• Library documents are called Information
Sources as they provide information.
• They are also called Information Resources.
• But the terms Information Source and
Information Resource are not
interchangeable
• A Source is one that makes something
available, but a Resource helps in creating
something new.

44. • As a library generates all its services on the
basis of its information sources they can also
be called information resources so long
libraries were having printed resources
• Now resources are available in various other
formats, such as AV, digital, etc.
• E-resources are more popular these days
because of their distinct advantages

45. Consortia=Plurals

46. OBJECTIVE OF CONSORTIA
• Basically consortia have been created for
acquisition and sharing use of e-journals
• It is possible for the users of participating
libraries to access and/or download the
required materials remotely
• The objective of consortia can be widened to
make them efficient instruments of sharing of
all types of library resources

47. TYPES OF CONSORTIA
Theoretically consortia can be of various
types depending on their characteristics:
By type of libraries covered
– Consortia of multi-type libraries
– Consortia of same type libraries
By geographical area of coverage
– Local level consortia
– State level consortia
– National level consortia
– International level consortia

48. By subject/discipline covered
– Single discipline oriented consortia
– Multi-discipline oriented consortia
By basis of formation
– Non-sponsored consortia
– Sponsored consortia
• Any existing consortia may fall in more than
one category

49. INDIANLIBRARY CONSORTIA
• Library consortia have come up in many
countries
• Several consortia have come up in India too:
– Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and
Astrophysics (FORSA)
– Indian National Digital Library in Science &
Technology (INDEST)
– INFONET Project of UGC – Health Sciences
Library & Information Network (HELINET)
– CSIR E-Journal Consortium
– DAE Library Consortium
– IIM Library Consortium

50. INFORMATIONRESOURCE SHARINGFUNCTIONS
A consortium can take up following activities
for promoting information resource sharing:
• Cooperative collection development among
member libraries
• Cooperative processing of information
resources acquired through consortium
• Creation of virtual library covering all the e-
resources available in member lib raries

51. • Compilation of bibliographical and /or full-
text databases of the holdings of the member
libraries, both print and non-print
• Sharing of information resources, both
traditional and digital, of member libraries
through network or document delivery
service
• Allowing reciprocal borrowing by the
members of all libraries of the consortium
• Supporting member libraries for setting
institutional repositories, e-print archives,
electronic theses collection, etc.

52. • Digitization of valuable and rare collections
of member libraries available in printed
format and providing access to such
materials to the members of all the libraries
of the consortium
• Developing common interface to catalogues,
databases and e-collection by creating
portals