For the last seven years, California has been planning a multitype library network that will link and serve its 8,000 libraries of all types - academic, public, school, and special - through resource sharing. Named "The Library of California" ; in recognition of the virtual library that will be created through resource sharing, this new network will build upon the California Library Services Act, which is limited to public libraries. The library of California will provide services with direct benefit to the public as well as services of indirect benefit that support its resource-sharing activities.
It is anticipated that the California Library Networking Task Force will seek a sponsor this year for enabling legislation and new State funds to begin to implement the program.
Trial projects involving cooperation among public libraries began nationwide in the late 1950s and early 1960s, frequently using Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) funds. In many states, those federally funded demonstration projects paved th e way for state-funded public library systems. California's own Public Library Services Act, the predecessor to the California Library Services Act (CLSA), was passed in 1963 and supported the creation of cooperative public library systems statewide .
The next wave, in California and in other states, was the expansion of cooperation and resource sharing from public libraries to all types of likes: academic, public, school, and special. Health sciences libraries, of course, are special libraries. S uch networks have now been implemented in states such as Illinois, Florida, and New York.
A network supplements, and does not duplicate or replace, local library service. Indeed, its participants must already be capable of meeting the basic, recurring needs of their primary clientele. A network respects the autonomy of its members. It bal ances the needs and priorities of all its members while acknowledging and respecting their differences.
The following comments, expressed in the words of health sciences librarians, address the benefits of and barriers to multitype library networking in California:
Health sciences librarians in California perceive resource-sharing, especially through electronic document delivery/interlibrary loan, as the greatest potential benefit of networking: temporary research projects or unanticipated medical treatment can m ake existing collections insufficient and the necessary informational materials are often no longer available for purchase. Collaborative undertakings in such areas as joint database licenses or shared digitization facilities are the second most importan t benefit.
The principal barrier to participation in networking in California, according to these same health sciences librarians, is the perception by some that networking is unnecessary, since their libraries already fulfill all the needs of their clientele or existing networks already fill the breach. They say that other librarians, especially public librarians, don't recognize that health sciences libraries have different service needs and require different resource-sharing protocols.
As a result of these surveys - and the different priorities for and restrictions on the different type of libraries statewide - health sciences librarians have been involved in the seven-year network planning process from its beginning to assure that t heir needs and priorities would be addressed.
Each health sciences library will identify what it can share and how it will share it, within the constraints of its own jurisdiction, and select the network services in which it will participate. In addition, the library will participate in the gover nance of the local Regional Library Network and access State-supported services without fees.
Services of Direct Public Benefit
Interlibrary loan/document delivery, patron referral and on-site services, and direct loan privileges will all be reimbursed through the Library of California. The direct loan program among libraries will allow the patrons of any heath sciences librar y to have direct borrowing privileges at the other participating libraries, including the major research libraries of the state. The electronic direct access program goes one step further: patrons holding electronic library cards will be able to electron ically search the catalogs of participating libraries through the Internet, select items, and receive them directly at their homes or places of business. In addition, the patron referral program will enable users of a health sciences library to obtain en try into another library, such as a newspaper library or a university library, which they would otherwise have been unable to use. As a result of the health sciences librarians involved in the planning process, there will be a special provision for RUSH requests.
The reference program will provide back-up services to health sciences libraries when people ask for information beyond the library's capacity or outside its scope, by tapping into the most comprehensive and specialized library collections of the state . A "virtual" Ethnic Resource Center will enable librarians to deliver multicultural information in all the languages desired by their patrons; the master database will be online, but products may be created from it in a variety of formats for patrons and librarians (CD-ROM video, and others). A prototype product now provides prenatal and infant care information in Spanish and English.
Programs to Build the Resource Pool
The coordinated resource development program seeks to create the broadest and richest possible base of library resources available statewide to meet the changing needs of Californians. Its purpose is to enhance services, not to reduce local expenditur es for library materials, by enabling libraries to anticipate information demands, share database licenses, harness new formats and technologies, and avoid unnecessary redundancy.
A Preservation Information Center will be established, and partial funds will be provided for the preservation of library items in any format that document California's heritage, enhance its educational and economic future, and portray the cultural div ersity of its people. It will also provide training and consultative assistance to all libraries.
Programs to Maximize Service Use
A training and continuing education program will assist users and library staff in using network services, particularly through the Internet and other new technologies. It will be complemented by a broad-based campaign to expand public awareness of th e value, services, and resources of all local libraries, including their ability to serve as gateways to the resources of other California libraries.
Identifying and locating resources for sharing is also an essential support tool. The new technologies especially Internet will support faster and expanded user access to the books, magazines, audiovisual materials, etc. of all the State's libraries; and the resource-sharing agreements will be in place to enable, the patron to request and obtain the desired materials. The three major serials union databases of the state, including that maintained by the National Library of Medicine for California lib raries (SERHOLD), will be upgraded and merged into one master online database.
Programs to Deliver Resources
A basic telecommunications infrastructure that provides upgradable bandwidth as the user requirements grow will be the foundation for the communications and delivery program. It will be "affordable," meaning that it will cost no more than th e cost of a local telephone call from every library in the state to obtain complete and direct access. A "universal service" feature involves the designation and support of local libraries that agree to provide direct public access on a free or cost-recovery basis to a wide range of electronic information resources and services through the Internet.
Although telecommunications will be the dominant technology, some provision will also be made for physical delivery.
Now that The Library of California and its services have been defined the library community is seeking support for its implementation.*
California has made tremendous progress in multitype networking, developing policies that are unique to the needs of the state and responsive to the diversity of its population. All interested persons are encouraged to participate in the evolutionary process in the years ahead. It is the best thinking of thousands of Californians which has brought us this far, with policies uniquely suited to this unique state. It is the same involvement which will assure us that the best possible network services wi ll be implemented to respond to the diversity and the challenge of California.
| *Editorial Note: It is the understanding of the editor that the California Library Association has obtained a sponsor for The Library of California bill and initial funding request. The bill is being introduced in 1997, the first year of a two-year session. PSRML will keep Network libraries informed of the legislative progress. |