Cooperation in Action: Collaborative Initiatives in the World of Information

Citation

Keary, M.Y. (2002), "Cooperation in Action: Collaborative Initiatives in the World of Information", The Electronic Library, Vol. 20 No. 5, pp. 428-429. https://doi.org/10.1108/el.2002.20.5.428.2

Based on a series of essays, this book reviews the current state of co‐operation between libraries, museums and archives. Librarians have a long tradition of collaborative working in order to provide improved services to users, but over the years some of these schemes have declined and so has their effectiveness. With the advent of new technology there are different approaches in the way that collaborative initiatives can work, with real advantages, and this is encouraged by central government and the funding agencies. The contributors to this book aim to show how much has been achieved in breaking down barriers, opening up dialogue and improving services for lifelong learning.

Pilling and Kenna set the scene by describing the British Library’s long involvement in collaborative working, and in particular the establishment of its co‐operation and partnership programme (BLCPP) in 1999. It has a Web site (www.bl.uk/concord/) to promote co‐operation and act as a forum for the exchange of experience regarding collaboration. In 2000 the BL commissioned a project to produce a map of national and regional co‐operation between libraries in the UK. Moore and Carpenter describe the results of this research. Griffiths and Mackay take a futuristic look at how knowledge and information could be delivered to the e‐society, and the role of Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries.

Co‐operation at the regional level has a long history and Stuart Brewer takes a fresh look at recent changes, and developments. Bernard Naylor describes co‐operation in academia, talks about the strength of the Joint Information Systems Committee and its emerging core of policy, such as the distributed national collection, and the Distributed National Electronic Resource. Kenna and Shenton present a snapshot of recent significant collaborative preservation initiatives in the UK and internationally to September 2001, and comment on the features and characteristics that contribute to success.

Derek Law looks at two types of e‐co‐operation – the use of electronic tools to manage and share existing paper‐based resources; and the sharing of electronic information resources. Ronald Milne focuses on joined‐up funding available in the university sector, and in particular through the Research Support Libraries Programme (RSLP), an initiative funded by the UK Higher Education Funding Councils. Finally, Graham Cornish presents his view on the nature of international co‐operation and partnership, how it came about and the incentives to promote it.

Co‐operation is a technique for breaking down artificial boundaries between institutions and domains so that better services can be provided. What these essays illustrate is that co‐operation has taken on a new lease of life. There are new policies and new technologies to drive new collaborations as well as partnerships, for example, Resource and E‐co‐operation, so that prospects for the future appear positive and very promising.