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This paper examines the cardinal benefits of library consortium which is the resource sharing. Resource sharing aims at maximizing collection and services of libraries and information centres at minimum cost. Various sources of information (primary and secondary literature) were perused to view the essentiality of resource sharing in carrying out effective and efficient library and information services to users. The paper also highlighted the requirements needed for successful resource sharing practices among libraries. The significance/benefits of resource sharing as it relates to economic, developmental, academic/research as well as social life of librarians and library personnel were clearly stated. An ideal library networking model for resource sharing as well as examples such as DELNET, INFLIBNET, GILLDDNET and NULIB were presented. Various challenges militating against effective resource sharing were highlighted. The study concluded that resource sharing is inevitable and absolutely a necessary tool for enhancing an all time effective and efficient library and information services. The study proffered recommendations as remedies to factors militating against effective resource sharing in libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

his paper is based upon a lightning talk given at the NISO Plus conference on February 14, 2023 and it describes interlibrary Loan syste4m, Fulfillment, developed by the Equinox Open Library Initiative. A thriving resource-sharing consortium allows libraries to offer broader and deeper opportunities for individual learning and greater community equity. It unlocks access to additional copies beyond what an owning library has available, along with a broad range of content owned within the network, which provides a diverse collection for library users. Providing access to such a rich network of resources is the goal of Fulfillment, an open-source resource sharing system which breaks down barriers to sharing collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a new methodological approach to collection evaluation in public libraries, with the aim to read bibliographic and usage data in a less self-referential way and to improve collection development and management. Behind this approach there are two integrated types of analysis. The first one is a quantitative and qualitative benchmarking between different library collections: the attention focuses on the size of collections, the variety, the publishers, the subjects, the circulation data. The second type of analysis concerns the benchmarking between library collections and editorial production. Also in this case, the comparison covers the quantitative aspects (number of books selected by libraries and number of books published), the qualitative aspects (subjects, types of documents, Conspectus levels) and the usage data (loans and sales). The paper illustrates the results of a first and experimental application of this methodological approach for the analysis of collection portions of 26 public libraries (belonged to two Italian library systems), that are compared with the editorial production of the subject area Social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents in detail a parametric shape grammar for the generation of ancient Greek and Roman library plans. Ancient Libraries showcase a significant variability of scale, monumentality, and design with the use of different architectural components, and researchers cannot identify them as easily as other building types. The grammar is in 2D and captures all the variability of libraries from the simpler forms of the Hellenistic period to the more monumental of the Roman period, creating a vast range of designs. The paper presents the grammar-generated plans of the known libraries based on the evidence in the archaeological record. A frequency analysis of the occurrence of the rules in the derivations ranks the different characteristics of libraries and the architectural forms with which they occur in the corpus, to determine the probability of specific rules and to interpret them as mandatory or optional. The contribution of this work is that the shape grammar summarizes the design principles of ancient libraries visually and helps establish the building type of the ancient library. The frequency analysis assists tremendously in the reconstruction of fragmentarily preserved ancient libraries by providing a system in the reconstruction of the missing parts, when ambiguity is involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A previous research conducted by White and Choemprayong in 2019 indicates that libraries in Thailand have encountered multidimensional challenges in contributing to global bibliographic and resource sharing networks. As libraries outside Thailand may have a strong influence on representation in the global bibliographic universe, this paper investigates how libraries outside of Thailand manage Thai collections, particularly acquisitions and cataloging. Adopting Merton's Insiders/Outsiders doctrine as a contextual framework, this study applies an exploratory mixed-method approach using observation and interview methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examined the need for resource sharing among academic libraries in Nigeria. Most academic libraries are being required to operate more efficiently. Due to increasing amount of knowledge and greater diversity in demands; static or decreasing library budget in terms of real worth, increasing cost of processing documents and their information contents, explosion in published output, increasing bibliographic access of literature through internet and off- line database on CDs. It is becoming increasingly difficult for any academic library in Nigeria to meet the demands of its own users. There is need to motivate librarians for resource sharing to ensure maximum utilization of available financial, manpower, documents, equipment, accommodation, electronically, other library facilities and services. The resource sharing in libraries is a powerful tool for both increasing productivity and enhancing services to meet the changing needs of library users. Barriers associated with resource sharing and ways of dealing with them were identified. The benefits of resource sharing for effective access and utilization of information resources and services were highlighted. The paper concludes that since resource sharing in academic libraries is a boost to both library resources and services, academic libraries in Nigeria should co-ordinate their efforts and plan for the development of sustainable resource sharing so that maximum use can be made of limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Library of Serbia is a project linking Serbian libraries into a single information system based on the COBISS platform, allowing shared cataloguing, access to foreign databases and automation of all library services. The network was launched in 2003 with establishment of a shared union catalogue integrating the bibliographic catalogues of the four largest libraries in the country (which was re-launch, actually, as the first attempt to develop such network took place from 1988 to 1992 in former Yugoslavia). In 2006, the web application E-CRIS.SR was developed in compliance with the CERIF recommendations. It is established as a register of researchers and organisations included in the national library information system and COBISS.Net regional network. After fifteen years, the system has grown to include more than two hundred libraries (2 national, 94 public, 83 university/academic and 23 special libraries). In this paper we present an overview of the growth and development of the network and demonstrate all advantages of library networking for collection of data and processing of all kinds of library related statistical information in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries are constantly grappling with ever-escalating cost of scholarly resources. Price escalation in e-resource subscriptions coupled with budgetary constraints has serious impact on libraries across the globe. This paper critically examines the prevalent situations that have been leading to resource sharing; primarily emanated from library cooperatives, interlibrary loan, buying clubs; subsequently changed to utility services, site licensing, and ultimately the Consortium - an emerging toolkit for libraries to survive. The strategic alliances amongst libraries and growth of library consortia have been discussed. The implications of different consortia models to the Indian libraries are explained; which suggests for a sustainable consortia organization among potential partners. The paper also attempts to provide an insight into how consortia strategies can overcome an unending fiscal constraint, and to sustain the buying power in collection development for better access to greater resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presentation focuses on the establishment of a new thematic library network in Greece encompassing the majority of organized maritime orientated collections within special and/or University libraries: The Maritime Libraries Network (MarLiNet). The Network originated from the initial cooperation of three libraries with significant maritime collections, namely those of the Eugenides Foundation Library, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation Library and the Library of the University of the Aegean about a decade ago. The interest of the three institutions to cooperate on the maritime transport collections resulted in the signing, in 2010, of a first Memorandum of cooperation and in the establishment of the “Triangle of Maritime Libraries” with the written intent for it to become one day a “Polygon”. Today, the network consists of 8 libraries 1. Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation 2. Eugenides Foundation 3. Hellenic Maritime Museum 4. Hellenic Naval Academy 5. National Technical University of Athens 6. University of Piraeus 7. University of the Aegean 8. Naval History Department (Hellenic Navy) These libraries, possessing important maritime collections and sharing the common vision of improving their services to their research and general readers (users), meet regurarly on a monthly basis through their representatives in order to coordinate the actions of the network. The paper provides an overview of the vision, the values and the main purposes underlying the cooperation of the MarLiNet. These are mainly: a. Expanding the availability of titles to their users b. Saving resources through a rationalized strategy of new acquisitions c. Increasing the readability of their shipping collections; and d. maximizing their visibility as important collections on maritime transport subjects, a step already taken through the on-going construction of a joint website. In the above context, we are discussing in this presentation our short-term and long-term planning as well as our strengths, weaknesses and the challenges that this network offers. Finally, there is reference to some best practices and lessons learned by other relevant initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of library value through two aspects: first, how libraries add value to societies and communities in a very general way; second, how libraries help to create equal and inclusive communities and societies. Five functions of library system and libraries are identified in the library literature, all of which help to create a more equal and just society in one way or another. The more concrete ways, in which libraries address the issues of social inequalities, are illustrated by examples of Lithuanian library activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of Cyberage, the information requirements of the users have grown so immensely that no individual library can fulfill their information demands on its own. This has urged the need for cooperation between libraries and information centers for sharing of their resources and information through networking. Thus consortia are considered as a vital move towards library cooperation. A library consortium combines the purchasing power of its members and thus helps to fulfill the requirements of users of all member libraries to greater extent. In a short span of time, numerous consortia have been formed all over the globe. With enormous increase in number of consortia, communication among the various consortia has become critical. Thus, a consortium of consortia was formed in the USA, known as the International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) (Huarng & yu, 2011). The paper explores the consortia of different countries participating in ICOLC. Various features (viz., number of consortia, types and number of libraries participating, legal status and services provided) of participating consortia are keenly studied to have the in-depth study. It is observed that about 55 countries are participating in ICOLC and US is the major contributor (48.53%) as per the number of consortia. All types of libraries viz, academic, public, school and special are taking part in the consortia. These consortia vary in their legal status few are national while some are run by non-profit organizations while few others are administered by co-operative bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research paper is to investigate the knowledge management strategies adopted by the libraries of central universities in India. Review of literature, reveals that codification and personalisation have been considered knowledge management strategies for sharing explicit and tacit knowledge within the library system. To determine the most used knowledge management strategies in libraries, 14 tools (seven each for codification and personalisation) were recognised from the literature review and taken for examination. A total of 116 library and information science professionals of 23 central universities spread across India were surveyed through a web-based questionnaire to explore the knowledge management strategies followed and data analyses were conducted by using SPSS version 22.0. The findings of the research show that both codification and personalisation have been used in libraries, though the balance of codification and personalisation was not in 80-20 ratio. Between codification and personalisation, codification was found to be the most useful strategy with collective mean difference, i.e., 0.312. This study has practical implications for those who are not fully aware of the prominence of knowledge management and how knowledge management strategies can be used to gain a competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the European Union is made up of individual institutions. These institutions have their own libraries, which significantly contribute on the creation of an information policy of the EU information policy. In this paper I introduce libraries of five EU institutions (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors). I describe their significance and function within the institution, its services and access for the user. On the example of the Central Library of the European Commission I try to demonstrate that the library serves its purpose and manages a network of libraries of the European Commission, but individual libraries in the network do not work in a uniform manner and do not cooperate too much. There is no common and centralized information strategy and policy of information resources and miss a common rules and procedures for working and functioning of the libraries. Cooperation between libraries of the EU institutions is not much better. Probably the only form of cooperation between the libraries is a network of European institutions - Eurolib - within which libraries communicates with each other and jointly promotes wider awareness of Europe and its problems. In the conclusion, I will try to suggest way how to deal with this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]