Inplosion (Information Explosion) is today a world wide phenomena.
Acquisition of all documents, issuing in all formats, is a wild dream for any
library. National priorities as we approach the 21st century are shifting fast.
Government budgets and allocations are increasing for defence, Communications,
agriculture, Irrigation, Health, Housing, etc. but decreasing on the library
front. Resources crunch and libraries. In the present scenario of reduced
resources, increased cost of information, resource sharing and networking of
libraries have become the necessity of the day. No library, however big it is
,cannot contain all information. Till the advent of Information Technology, most
libraries remained like islands except for some minimal co-operation in inter
-library loans. Information technology is the modern buzz word. It has provided
facilities for the free flow . It has provided facilities for the free flow of
information. the world has become a global village. Information Super Highways,
Information Super Markets are created through networks like internet. This has
facilitated for resource sharing among the libraries though they are separated
by miles of distance. The concept of virtual libraries, Opac, Hypertext and
teleconferences for the purpose of resource sharing and information exchange
have become common. This book has seven chapters. They cover the development of
university education, university libraries and different models of computer
networks, then advantages and benefits of resource sharing among the university
libraries. The book discusses about a local information grid to the universities
at a level which is essential for an effective working of the network such as
the INFLIBNET at all India level. The book contains an abundant data and
statistics which are useful to teachers and scholars. It is a useful addition to
all libraries who have plans to modernize in the years to come.
