Modern libraries need to respond to many challenges and thus must constantly evolve. The series Bibliotheks- und Informationspraxis [Library and Information Practice] takes on new issues and questions and it aims, by contributing information and practical experience, to optimize the operations and services of libraries and comparable institutions. The series is intended for all who work in libraries or other areas of information dissemination.

This book, first published in 1996, analyses the most important and relevant collection development and networking issues facing the library community today. It explores the relationship between electronic resources, resource sharing, and collection development from the perspectives of librarians, vendors, and network administrators. It also presents ideas for saving precious budgetary dollars and improving collections by utilizing resource-sharing technology to provide library users with access to information.

The year 1997 found the members of the OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) cooperative in an expansive mood. More than 1,000 library leaders attended the OCLC President’s Luncheon in San Francisco, where they celebrated OCLC’s 30th anniversary. There were more than 25,000 libraries participating in the cooperative, including nearly 3,000 libraries in 62 countries outside the U.S., and the WorldCat database contained more than 37 million bibliographic records. Over the next ten years, the global digital library would indeed emerge, but in a form that few could have predicted. Against a backdrop of continuous technological change and the rapid growth of the Internet, the OCLC cooperative’s WorldCat database continued to grow and was a central theme of the past decade. As the chapters in this book show, OCLC’s chartered objectives of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing the rate of rising library costs continue to resonate among libraries and librarians, as the OCLC cooperative enters its fifth decade. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Library Administration.

In OCLC 1967--1997: Thirty Years of Furthering Access to the World's Information, you'll see how libraries, librarians, and librarianship have changed dramatically since the late sixties, when OCLC was founded as a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization. You'll also see how far information professionals have come in their common crusade to provide access to the ever-expanding body of information worldwide. OCLC 1967--1997 gives you both a look back and a look forward across thirty years of continuous technological change as OCLC grows from an Ohio network of 54 academic libraries to a global network of 26,000 libraries in 65 countries. Eighteen experienced authors give you a panoramic overview and specific insight into OCLC as both a membership organization and a provider of computer services. You'll see how libraries and librarians have an institutionalized voice for libraries in OCLC’s strategic directions. And, you'll better understand how the shared commitment of OCLC members to the ideals of research, scholarship, and education has created a unique library resource--WorldCat--which has become the most consulted database in higher education. Specifically, you'll read about: the changing tasks of cataloging, from automatic processing of print materials to the new challenges of electronic metadata the revolution in reference services and resource sharing OCLC in Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America today's leading-edge electronic libraries--GALILEO and the CIC VEL research at OCLC the new electronic scholarship OCLC 1967--1997 is for library professionals in libraries of all types. It is a definitive guidebook to today's OCLC and to all those who are helping their libraries and staffs deal with the challenges and opportunities of the Information Age.

Following the format of Fitzroy Dearborn's highly successful International Dictionary of Historic Places and International Dictionary of University Histories, the International Dictionary of Library Histories provides basic information for each institution - location and holdings - followed by an extensive (1,000-5,000 word) essay on its history as well as a Further Reading list. In addition, the dictionary includes introductory articles on the history of various types of libraries and a library history in various regions of the world. The dictionary profiles more than 200 institutions from around the world, including the world's most important research libraries and other libraries with globally or regionally notable collections, innovative traditions, and significant and interesting histories. The essays take advantage of the growing scholarship of library history to provide insightful overviews of each institution, including not only the traditional values of these libraries but their innovations as well, such as developments in automated systems and electronic delivery. The profiles will emphasize the unique materials of research in these institutions - archives, manuscripts, personal and institutional papers. The introductory articles on types of libraries include topics ranging from theological libraries to prison libraries, from the ancient to the digital. An international team of more than 200 leading scholars in the field have contributed essays to the project.