RESOURCE SHARING: PRESENT APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE POTENTIAL
| Date | 01 April 1993 |
| Published date | 01 April 1993 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129310038695 |
| Pages | 17-24 |
| Author | Diana Massam |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
VOLUME 14 NUMBER 4
1993
Resource
Sharing:
Present
Applications
and
Future
Potential
Diana Massam
Co-operation is defined by Edmonds as the
"reciprocally beneficial sharing of
resources"[l, p. 5].
Since the 1830s, co-operative activities have
played a part in attempts to meet ever more
complex and varied user needs with finite
resources. Increasingly, resource sharing is
characterized as the answer in meeting service
requirements while operating within financial
constraints. However, co-operation with other
information providers demands careful
planning, astute management and often the
diversion of existing resources. Such activities
are only worthwhile if they constitute a
viable method of meeting user needs. If
resource sharing is not organized and applied
effectively, it can obscure service priorities
and result in additional problems.
PRESENT DAY PRESSURES
Pressure on libraries and information units
has steadily increased in recent years. The
information demands of users have become
more complex and extensive, while resources
available to meet them are stretched.
Dougherty states: "The fact that no research
library can be self-sufficient has become
universally accepted
"[2,
p. 383] and this
situation is reflected throughout the
information sector. Various factors combine
to make service provision a costly and
difficult operation. Budgetary pressures are
exacerbated by the so-called "information
explosion", reflected in the increased volume
of material published each year. Subject
specialization, coupled with the academic
Library Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, 1993, pp. 17-24, © MCB University Press,
0143-5124
desire to have work published, means that
the number of information sources available
must keep pace with a significant expansion
in intellectual activity and in "knowledge"
itself.
At the same time, journal prices are
rising beyond the rate of inflation.
In addition, networking, CD-ROM and on-
line services, while themselves contributing to
increased costs, also serve to encourage the
growth in demand for information. The
provision of accessible abstracts, indexes and
references enables users to be more aware of
the information sources available and to
demand access to them. Such demand is
increasing as information becomes a vital
commodity in modern society.
CLIENT-CENTRED SERVICES
These developments act as constraints on the
traditional collection building activities of
many libraries. Consequently, the emphasis
has shifted from a collection-centred to a
client-oriented approach. Therefore, providing
access to information, rather than ownership
of it, is often seen as the basic service
requirement of information management.
Sewell describes the situation thus:
A range of physical, intellectual and
conceptual resources on the one hand and a
body of people with information and library
needs on the other[3, p. 10].
Such a view forms the basis of a
commitment to resource sharing, as reflected
in a resolution by the White House
Conference of 1979, stating that resource
sharing is mandated by increased costs, the
growth in information available and
developments in technology[3, p. 9].
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