Consortia for Electronic Library Provision in Belgium

Abstract

THE GENERAL PICTURE E-libraries just like the former paper-based libraries will become increasingly essential and indispensable tools in research and education. Library consortia seem to be the way to get e-libraries started all over the world. However, it is unclear yet whether this is going to be a longlasting workable model. In an article published in 1997 Maurice B. Line (UK) has put a series of questions behind the concept of library cooperation1.”Library cooperation has always been assumed to be a good thing, but much thinking has focussed on the means of cooperation rather than the ends that cooperation is intended to serve, neglecting to fully explore other means of attaining those ends. Cooperative schemes have rarely been subjected to rigorous costeffectiveness analysis, most have been national or sub-national rather than international; and some areas where cooperation could be useful have received little attention. Cooperation on a goodwill basis is already giving way to commercial arrangements between libraries as well as private suppliers. The growth in the number of private providers of various services, together with the ability of information technology to transcend geographical boundaries, are among factors that make a radical reappraisal of cooperation desirable”.