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National Library News

September 1995, vol. 27, no. 9


Resource-Sharing Meeting:
A Brief Update

by Gwynneth Evans,
Director General, National and International Programs

Approximately thirty people attended an invitational resource-sharing meeting hosted by the National Library during the Canadian Library Association annual conference on June 14 in Calgary. Following is a summary of the discussions and decisions.

It was agreed that these issues, identified during brainstorming sessions in 1994, remain essential to successful national resource-sharing activity:

Two issues raised during last year's meetings were re- examined in the context of the changing environment and the feasibility of making a difference at the national level. The first was coordinated collection development. Participants agreed that this activity is normally most successful at the local, regional and provincial levels, and pointed to several initiatives that have been launched in sectors throughout Canada. The second issue related to a shift in focus and attitude towards service and access. Again, participants observed that such changes happen within institutions and groups of institutions, rather than being imposed at the national level.

The National Library uses such meetings to develop its own workplans and priorities, and staff members were pleased to sharpen their focus on key issues. They also promised to continue their study of the future of the union catalogue, and anticipate receiving additional information from participants and other colleagues about priorities for ensuring an efficient and effective continuation of union catalogue development to support the goal of enabling all Canadians to have access to information, wherever, whenever and in whatever format they need it.

Meeting participants will receive copies of the full report. For recently published information on resource sharing, see National Library News, vol. 27, no. 2, February 1995, pp. 7- 8; nos. 3-4, March-April 1995, pp. 17-18, and no. 6, June 1995 (resource-sharing issue).

Government of Canada Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1995-10-31).