RESOURCE SHARING AMONG LIBRARIES IN DIGITAL ERA Role of Consortia Amitabha Chatterjee Dept. of Library & Information Science Jadavpur University Kolkata 700032

INTRODUCTION No library is able to satisfy all the needs of its clientele This gave rise to the concept of Library Cooperation The concept is now known as Resource Sharing Library Cooperation remained confined to inter-library loan Even inter-library loan was not being practised widely

Internet and other local and national networks have facilitated resource sharing E-resources have further facilitated information exchange Emergence of library consortia is a promising development Advent of ICT has opened up new opportunities for greater cooperation among libraries Emergence of Library Consortia is a promising development for Resource Sharing

SOURCE & RESOURCE The concept of Information Resource is often not defined properly Library documents are called Information Sources as they provide information They are also called Information Resources But the terms Information Source and Information Resource are not interchangable A Source is one that makes something available, but a Resource helps in creating something new

As a library generates all its services on the basis of its information sources they can also be called information resources So long libraries were having printed resources Now resources are available in various other formats, such as AV, digital, etc. E-resources are more popular these days because of their distinct advantages

RESOURCE SHARING Resource sharing does not merely mean mutual sharing of information sources among libraries It will mean utilizing information resources of one library for generating services of another library Information Resources and Library Resources are not synonymous Library Resources may include other resources, besides information resources, like staff and equipment

Thus Resource Sharing may mean sharing of all these resources for the mutual benefit of libraries and their users In this sense connotation of Library Cooperation and Resource Sharing will be almost same

LIBRARY CONSORTIA Consortium literally means “temporary cooperation of several powers or large interests to effect some common purpose” Library consortium is “a group of libraries that agree to pool their resources by allowing the user of each institution some type of access to resources of all other institutions” “It is a community of value creating entities, generating value through an aggregation of library units within and across organizations”

PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT First phase: several libraries come together for the mutual benefit of the respective users – Library Cooperative Second phase: Libraries are linked together with the help of ICT – Library Network Third phase: Libraries come together to acquire and share e-resources – Library Consortium

CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENT In the first phase the documents were only in printed format and the stress was on use through inter-library lending In the second phase too documents were mainly in printed format. Bibliographical databases of the holdings of all the libraries could be accessed from any library and required documents could be procured through document delivery service In the third phase the documents are mainly in digital format which can be accessed directly by the users of any library remotely

OBJECTIVE OF CONSORTIA Basically consortia have been created for acquisition and sharing use of e-journals It is possible for the users of participating libraries to access and/or download the required materials remotely The objective of consortia can be widened to make them efficient instruments of sharing of all types of library resources

ORGANIZATIONAL MODELS A variety of organizational models of consortia have been developed At one end are loosely affiliated buying clubs aiming at sharing a discounted rate of e-journals and databases At another end are tightly integrated organizations sharing variety of resources

TYPES OF CONSORTIA Theoretically consortia can be of various types depending on their characteristics: By type of libraries covered – Consortia of multi-type libraries – Consortia of same type libraries By geographical area of coverage – Local level consortia – State level consortia – National level consortia – International level consortia

– Multi-discipline oriented consortia By subject/discipline covered – Single discipline oriented consortia – Multi-discipline oriented consortia By type of organizational structure – Loosely knit federation – Tightly knit organization By basis of formation – Non-sponsored consortia – Sponsored consortia Any existing consortium may fall in more than one category

INDIAN LIBRARY CONSORTIA Library consortia have come up in many countries Several consortia have come up in India too: – Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and Astrophysics (FORSA) – Indian National Digital Library in Science & Technology (INDEST) – INFONET Project of UGC – Health Sciences Library & Information Network (HELINET) – CSIR E-Journal Consortium – DAE Library Consortium – IIM Library Consortium

FUNCTIONS OF CONSORTIA Obviously existing consortia are basically serving as buying clubs With little initiative these can be developed into effective platforms for sharing valuable resources of libraries, both printed and non-printed Besides resource sharing, these consortia can also take up several activities for the mutual benefit of the participating libraries

INFORMATION RESOURCE SHARING FUNCTIONS A consortium can take up following activities for promoting information resource sharing: Cooperative collection development among member libraries Cooperative processing of information resources acquired through consortium Creation of virtual library covering all the e-resources available in member lib raries

Compilation of bibliographical and /or full-text databases of the holdings of the member libraries, both print and non-print Sharing of information resources, both traditional and digital, of member libraries through network or document delivery service Allowing reciprocal borrowing by the members of all libraries of the consortium Supporting member libraries for setting institutional repositories, e-print archives, electronic theses collection, etc.

Digitization of valuable and rare collections of member libraries available in printed format and providing access to such materials to the members of all the libraries of the consortium Developing common interface to catalogues, databases and e-collection by creating portals Creating inter-operability among member systems, databases and services

OTHER RESOURCE SHARING FUNCTIONS A consortium may also share other resources in the following manner: Sharing the storage facilities, thereby minimizing expenditure on space Pooling of expert manpower and promoting professional development Assist member libraries in creating IT infrastructure

Facilitating joint preservation and archiving activities for print and digital materials Initiating and supporting research projects of common interest Collectively promoting, marketing and publicising the library services

MOBILIZATION OF LIBRARY COMMUNITY In spite of the benefits of consortia approach the library community in general in India is not actively coming forward to adopt it Only a few libraries have formed consortia voluntarily Some others have been induced to join consortia by the sponsors A large number of libraries is still out of the ambit of any consortium

Unwillingness of some libraries to share their resources The main reasons of this situation are: Lack of awareness among the libraries and/or library authorities about the ultimate benefits of consortia Conservative mentality of the library authorities with regard to e-information resources, specially online resources Unwillingness of some libraries to share their resources Unwillingness of some libraries to share the burden of resource sharing i.e. serving users of libraries other than their own

Uneven development of libraries of different sectors and slow progress of library automation Inability of many libraries in meeting the minimum commitment required to join a consortium due to financial and other infrastructural constraints Lack of demand for resource sharing on the part of users Poor bibliographical control of the holdings of the libraries Lack of sufficient information resources to be shared

To harness the enormous benefits of consortia it is necessary to mobilize the library community to adopt the method Govt. agencies like UGC and CSIR have come forward to mobilize the libraries being funded by them Steps should be taken to mobilize more libraries by making them aware about the benefits of consortia approach and removing the barriers faced by them in this regard

CONCLUSION In India resource sharing has not yet developed in true sense NISSAT has been dismantled Library networks, started with much fanfare have not yet become effective vehicles of resource sharing Happily some consortia have come up, but they are yet mostly buying clubs

To boost resource sharing activities three-pronged approach is needed: Strengthening and reengineering of existing consortia to make them true vehicles of resource sharing and not merely sharing of e-journals Starting new consortia and networks for resource sharing on suitable basis Linking of the consortia based networks to achieve nation-wide network of libraries

Implementation of these steps may take some time and face many hurdles But once done it will be possible to have effective nation-wide resource sharing This will save enormous amount of money and expedite research at all levels thereby contributing greatly in national development THANK YOU