New study to shed light on library cooperatives

摘要

Several years ago, a few folks got together at an ALA conference and started talking about the similarities, differences, opportunities, and limitations that faced the cooperatives and multitype library systems they represented. This was not an officially convened committee or task force. One of the early members, Sarah Ann Long, described the initial encounter as a "blind date." Long directs the North Suburban Library System, one of 12 regional systems in Illinois. She's not even sure any more who exactly was at that initial meeting, but it has evolved into a quintet that continues to make music. Other members of the band, which so far doesn't have an official name but is unofficially dubbing itself the Light Bulb Group, are Linda Crowe, Peninsula Library System, San Mateo, California; Tom Sloan, Southeast Florida Library and Information Network (SEFLIN), Fort Lauderdale; Dottie Hiebing, Metropolitan New York Library Council; and Karen Hyman, South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, Gibbsboro. The group first presented an informational session at the California Library Association conference in 2000, and again at ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco last June. The ALA program drew a huge crowd. Even though many libraries--and librarians--may be only peripherally involved in or aware of what the multitype system they belong to actually does or can do for them, the fact remains that significant numbers of libraries of all types do belong to some type of cooperative. Some members may feel that all libraries benefit from resources allocated to systems, while others may even see themselves in competition for those resources. In either case, there seems to be an audience for better information that can lead to more effective services and more efficient use of resources.