Shared Collections

September 1, 2016

Collaboration between collection development and management teams is not a revolutionary concept, as evidenced by the establishment of the Center for Research Libraries in 1949. Flat or declining budgets continue to motivate librarians to embrace collaborative ways to achieve their multifaceted goals of information curation and provision. Hale (technical services, Johns Hopkins; Outsourcing Cataloging, Authority Work, and Physical Processing) presents insights from 20 contributors about current practices and planning strategies for cooperative efforts at often-overlapping regional, state, and network levels. The offered guidelines for agreements and cost considerations will interest administrators. Case studies present real-world examples of collaborative solutions for legacy print collections, government documents, serials, and e-resources. The final chapter attempts to peer into the future, suggesting increasing complexity as digitization expands and challenges surrounding nondigital resources linger. Information consumers' growing expectations for fast and convenient access are also a given. Bottom line concerns will continue to influence decisions about access and preservation methods. VERDICT Broader in scope than Valerie Horton and Greg Pronevitz's Library Consortia, these essays provide a solid overview of the collaboration landscape while also offering useful tips for those negotiating existing partnerships or contemplating new efforts. Recommended for LIS students and practitioners.--Betty J. Glass, Univ. of Nevada Lib., RenoEternal Reads

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