College and Research Libraries Editorial Resource Sharing A series on the crisis of rising journal prices begins in this issue with an article by Kenneth Marks et al. Articles in sub- sequent issues will further define the problem and offer some directions to- ward resolution. A greater commitment to resource sharing must be one re- sponse to this conundrum. The number of monographs, serials, and other formats appropriate to a col- lege or university library has increased while the prices, particularly for serials, have exploded. At the same time, the introduction of online and CD-ROM technologies has made users more de- manding. The laborious process of copy- ing citations from a paper index might have slowed undergraduates' quest for knowledge in the past, but now they arrive at service desks with printed cita- tion lists of esoteric books and journals. Further, the graduate student and the faculty researcher may produce an even more comprehensive and demanding list from specialized online databases. Only in the largest libraries can all of these citations be found locally. Thus, resource sharing is increasingly import- ant as a strategy to meet users' needs. David Weber's "A Century of Cooper- ative Programs among Academic Librar- ies" in the May 1976 issue of C&RL chronicles and analyzes resource shar- ing programs. Historically, librarians speak eloquently about the need for sharing materials yet continue to build, to the best of their abilities, insular col- lections. The rhetoric of resource sharing heightens in proportion to increases in materials prices, declining values of the dollar, and erosions in local funding. But when these pressures on the materials budget ease, interest in resource sharing wanes. A modest interlibrary loan traffic can then meet the requests of disserta- tion writers and other serious scholars. However, in the last few years demand has increased dramatically, with inter- library loan reflecting the expanded ac- tivity. For instance, among colleges in Oregon's State System of Higher Educa- tion, the increase has been 164 percent in just the last four years. While technology in the form of elec- tronic databases has increased demand, other technologies-grand biblio- graphic utilities and modest fax ma- chines-have increased efficiencies. Sources of materials can be quickly iden- tified; items can be ordered and deliv- ered electronically. Nevertheless, technologies have generally outstripped policies and political commitments. Three areas require additional consider- ation to fulfill the technological poten- tials for resource sharing: policy development, funding, and cooperative collection development. POLICY DEVELOPMENT Although technologies and courier services have changed tracking and movement of materials, many individ- ual institutions have not reexamined rules governing use of materials. While the local users' requirements should take precedence, the needs of other users in the region and around the country should also be considered. Users' needs are like widening concentric circles; the nearest deserves and receives greatest attention, but the others should not be 115 116 College & Research Libraries ignored. For instance, lightly used seri- als might circulate between two cam- puses instead of being confined to one. Definitions of primary use should be re- written to facilitate lending and borrow- ing. The "fair use" copyright rule should be examined for legal and practical standing. Five circulations within five years has been the standard practice- perhaps that logic should be tested. Many large libraries fear that active participation in resource sharing will re- sult in a reapportionment of access from the "haves" to the "have nots," from an inner concentric circle to an outer one. In some settings, this concern may be ale- gitimate one, worthy of serious consid- eration and study. However, the largest collections must expend resources to maintain their status. For instance, se- lecting and purchasing rna terials for a level-three collection is a fairly straight- forward task, but seeking out and buy- ing the materials that differentiate a level-five collection from a level four is an expensive task. Doing original cata- loging for the distinctive level-five mate- rials, much of them in foreign languages, costs a great deal more, too. In the same way, perhaps larger libraries will have to lend more to be able to borrow those items necessary to meet the more eso- teric needs of their most specialized users. FUNDING The eloquent language surrounding resource sharing should find its corol- March 1991 lary in eloquent funding. Failing to reg- ister local ownership on a national bib- liographic database in order to save money is not an acceptable strategy. The networks have generally committed themselves to low fees for holdings reg- istration. Only a small percentage of the institution's budget is required to con- tinue to support participation in a biblio- graphic utility. Adequate staff must be provided to give timely interlibrary loan service. Other operations, such as cata- loging, marking, and shelving, need to provide effective support. COOPERATIVE COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT Especially in resource-poor areas, co- operative collection development must become a reality. While collection con- spectuses and shelf list counts have done much to identify areas of strength, this information seems to have had only a modest effect on establishing parame- ters for cooperation. As the definitions of different collective levels become more precise, their impact on actual practice should increase. Few states or regions can afford to support overlapping level- five collections in any area. The tradition of resource sharing is proud but unrealized. New technolo- gies make resource sharing one of the most challenging areas of librarianship. Policy, funding, and cooperative collec- tion development must now rise to meet the level of technological promise. GLORIANA ST. CLAIR IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES OF COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES Resolving the Acquisitions Dilemma: Into the Electronic Information Environment by Eldred Smith ARL Directors: Two Decades of Changes by Marcia J. Myers and Paula T. Kaufman The Bottomless Pit Revisited by Larry Hardesty Subject Cataloging of Personality Tests by Robert P. Jordan Research Notes Literature of Academic Libraries by John M. Budd I