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This paper traces the demise of joined up ILL across the Regional and National Libraries of the UK by the setting up of Unity (Combined Regions) and the change of status of LASER. It also documents the long‐term development of Viscount/V3 and the effect upon resource sharing along with other significant developments. Examines the new regional bodies and The People's Network in their contribution to, and effect upon, resource sharing. Details the history of LASER's development of electronic messaging and resource sharing from Viewdata through to Viscount and on to V3.Web.

Resource sharing is an important element in the national planning of library and information services to meet the needs of information, education and culture of the whole community at all levels. An overview of resource sharing practices is presented, with particular reference to the British scene. It is also argued that, with the approach of the Single Market in 1992, resource sharing should now be considered on a European scale. In conclusion, some problems associated with the practice of resource sharing are considered.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

As information technologies continue to evolve, reference librarians need to stay abreast of the growing number of state, regional, national, and international information networks currently available.

The review begins with a study of several analyses of statistics relating to interlibrary loan. The subjective nature of some of these is stressed and the danger of using statistical data in isolation is highlighted. Statistical evidence is also brought into the discussion about the conflict between interlending and preservation which centres on the difference between the book and the text. Whilst two authors take a rather conservative approach, the third looks on the problem with a more liberal attitude. Although the intrinsic safety of the materials involved is a partial barrier to interlending in developing countries, writers from both Africa and Latin America emphasize the major obstacles to advancing ILL are professional attitudes and jealousies. The proceedings of a seminar in India are reported in which a number of participants put forward possible interlending models for their country. The deliberations in Australia also centre round the alternative models available, and arguments over the costs involved persist leading to some novel arguments about making ILL a free service. The development of interlending in Illinois is examined in some detail. The impact of interlending on acquisitions policies is discussed in two papers which show that interlending is still a backup for low use material when viewed in this context. The review closes with a discussion of the future particularly in terms of money and resources which are likely to become more and more limited. The demise of the US plan for a National Periodicals Center is used to show that money and power are major elements in deciding the fate of interlending schemes.

Describes the results of a Scottish Library and Information Council‐funded project into the business information needs of companies in the rural areas of the north‐east of Scotland. Based on a survey by questionnaire, interviews and case studies, describes the information providers available to rural businesses, the pattern of present use of such agencies by companies, the nature of respondents’ information needs, problems in accessing information and attitudes to IT. Highlights as significant to businesses particular types of information, some of which are felt to require the support of expert advice. The use of existing agencies suggests that many companies are poorly informed as to which agencies to approach and that these are less likely to approach libraries than “business” organizations, i.e. those providers which are seen as being more dedicated to the interests of the business community. Finds that business information provision is a dynamic and constantly shifting environment, in terms of the appearance and demise of information providers; and suggests there are lessons to be learned from the experience of the traditional and long‐established services.

With the evolution of the WLN‐based Illinois Conspectus over the last decade, it is not unusual for some of us Illinois librarians to consider that earlier Illinois product, The Krueger Manual, to be an antique relic of a long outmoded, once‐exciting, cutting‐edge Illinois experiment. However, there are libraries and library consortia in Illinois and around the country who are quite oblivious to the demise of the Krueger Method. They not only use it, but have evolved it and updated its processes and analysis software. Perhaps more significant is the encouraging frequency with which the client‐centered analyses tools included in the Krueger Manuals are beginning to show up in new assessment projects of all kinds.

This article describes the emergence of the bibliographic utilities and the services they were able to offer to libraries in the face of the high costs and risks of computerization. In 1980 the utilities had dreams of one vast national bibliographic network and a network‐based total library system providing not only cataloging and location facilities but also acquisition, circulation, serials control and interlibrary loan facilities, too. The reasons why these dreams never materialised are noted together with factors why, although they are still major participants in the library automation and networking environment today, the four main bibliographic utilities in North America are declining in so far as use of their traditional services is concerned. The factors discussed include the trends towards decentralized operation with turnkey integrated library systems, the trend towards local resource sharing and the rapidly growing sophistication of librarians with computers. In Part 2, (to appear in the next issue of The Electronic Library) the ways in which the bibliographic utilities are fighting back to try and overcome these adverse trends will be discussed.

In August 1977, the Division for Library Services awarded Library Services and Construction Act Title III funding to a proposal submitted by Denise B. Erwin, Director of the Instructional Materials Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin‐Madison, for a planning grant to identify and document the need for “Cooperative Media Review Centers” in the State of Wisconsin. This grant provided money for an eight month period to conduct the study and, based on the findings, to submit a report which would include a plan for the development and implementation of such an evaluation program. This proposal was based on work done previously, nationwide in scope and widely reported in the library press.

This work was originally commissioned during 1982, the year that was designated Information Technology Year; the year that the personal computer replaced the space invader machine as a focus for teenage obsession; the year of the library symbol, the Hunt Report on cable TV; the year the US Post Office issued two stamps celebrating American libraries, and the British Post Office issued a stamp for IT year suggesting that libraries were a thing of the past. The work was intended to look at “the background to the IT revolution, the benefits of applying technology to library services and the reasons for its relatively slow progress”. It was envisaged at the time that what would have been effectively a state‐of‐the‐art report on the technology available to libraries, and who was doing what with it, would be a useful tool for library managers introducing or extending library technical services. It might usefully have complemented the LA publication, The impact of new technology on libraries and information centres (LA, 1982). However, for a variety of reasons it was not possible to produce the publication in 1983 as intended; the person commissioned to write it was unable to do so; and eventually, in 1984, it was realised that the speed of development and availability of technology was such that any such work would be useless as a practical guide within months of publication. The growth, during the period, of journals on the subject of library applications of IT of all kinds; the appearance of regular updates in the generalist professional press; the formation of, for example, the Library Association IT Group: all these developments clearly offered better opportunities of current awareness to the library manager than could be achieved by a single monograph.