Cooperation and Networks and the Virtual Library
The concept of cooperation
Cooperation takes place between people or organisations working together to achieve a
common end.
The association of people or agencies in activities with common goals or objectives and with the
intent of providing specific benefits for all.
Cooperation in information institutions
The aims of cooperation between information institutions are to improve services to users, to
make optimal use of resources, and to prevent institutions from being isolated.
A range of formal or informal similarities between libraries with enable them to cooperate for
the common benefit of all the users
Why is library cooperation necessary?
Increasing volume of information material
Traditionally libraries assumed that they should acquire most of the material that their users
needed. They therefore bought as much material as possible. This approach was fairly successful
until the end of world war II
It was no longer possible for all information needs to be met locally, libraries saw cooperation as
the solution
Increased user demand for specialized information
A parallel development was the increasing demand form larger numbers of users with
increasingly diverse and specialized interests. This was a result of academic disciplines becoming
more specialized and new disciplines coming into existence
This meant that research workers needed more specialized information about an ever-widening
range of subjects.
Increasing literacy
The increase in literacy has led to more demands being made on the library as more people are
able to read and use books for different purposes.
Finance
The growing pressure on available financial resources increased the need for these resources to
be optimally utilized.
Cooperation does not necessarily mean that a library will spend less, but it does enable a library
to provide a higher level of service than would be possible at comparable cost without
cooperation
The concept of cooperation
Cooperation takes place between people or organisations working together to achieve a
common end.
The association of people or agencies in activities with common goals or objectives and with the
intent of providing specific benefits for all.
Cooperation in information institutions
The aims of cooperation between information institutions are to improve services to users, to
make optimal use of resources, and to prevent institutions from being isolated.
A range of formal or informal similarities between libraries with enable them to cooperate for
the common benefit of all the users
Why is library cooperation necessary?
Increasing volume of information material
Traditionally libraries assumed that they should acquire most of the material that their users
needed. They therefore bought as much material as possible. This approach was fairly successful
until the end of world war II
It was no longer possible for all information needs to be met locally, libraries saw cooperation as
the solution
Increased user demand for specialized information
A parallel development was the increasing demand form larger numbers of users with
increasingly diverse and specialized interests. This was a result of academic disciplines becoming
more specialized and new disciplines coming into existence
This meant that research workers needed more specialized information about an ever-widening
range of subjects.
Increasing literacy
The increase in literacy has led to more demands being made on the library as more people are
able to read and use books for different purposes.
Finance
The growing pressure on available financial resources increased the need for these resources to
be optimally utilized.
Cooperation does not necessarily mean that a library will spend less, but it does enable a library
to provide a higher level of service than would be possible at comparable cost without
cooperation
