Cooperation and Competition among Library Networks

Abstract

Recent technological advances and the success of OCLC, Inc. has led to the emergence of three additional nonprofit library networks: the Research Libraries Information Net work (RLIN) of the Research Libraries Group, Inc., the University of Toronto Library Automation System (UTLAS), and the Washington Library Network (WLN). This paper examines the economic and technological factors affecting the evolution of these networks and also explores the role of those state and regional (multistate) networks that broker OCLC services. The competitive and cooperative nature of network relationships is a major theme of the discussion.