library cooperation in Visayas and Mindanao
Annabelle P. Acedera
Xavier University
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
Abstract
Library cooperation has evolved over the years from interlibrary loan activities to creating union lists to online access to information. Here in the Philippines, library cooperation is a constant concern of most, if not all, librarians. Librarians do dream and wish that their libraries are part of a cooperative venture. Unfortunately, some libraries cannot do so because of lack, or absence of, materials and financial resources. Some libraries are lucky; they are better funded and can share resources. Still other libraries are luckier; they have very adequate finances and can participate in national online computerized networks as well as global electronic networks.
In general, the so-called provincial libraries (in the Philippines) have scarce resources and feel left behind by technological progress. Participation in, much less establishing, library cooperative ventures seem a distant reality. It seems that computerized linkages have become the norm and no longer the exception. On the other hand, an inadequate technological infrastructure should propel, rather than suppress, involvement in library cooperation. The marvels of technology may be beyond the reach of many provincial libraries but there are library cooperative ventures that may not need a computer base and are not heavily dependent on computerized linkages.
This paper deals with such kind of library cooperation. This paper will tell the stories of two library cooperative endeavors that have reached important milestones with minimal use of electronic connectivity: the Academic Libraries Book Acquisitions Systems Association, Inc. (ALBASA) which is now on its 32nd year and Academic Libraries Information Network in Mindanao (ALINET), now on its 17th year.
ALBASA is a library cooperative, born in Mindanao and raised in the Visayas, that focuses on a coordinated program of library book purchases that gives volume discounts and other privileges for members and non-members. Starting with only 13 members and an initial grant of P8,547.00 to cover operational expenses for one year, ALBASA now has 72 members and has grown into a million-peso cooperative venture. ALBASA has its share of problems, both foreseen and unforeseen, but the genuine cooperation of the member-librarians as well as the trust and unwavering support of school administrators have allowed ALBASA to operate successfully for the past thirty-two years.
ALINET, genuinely made in Mindanao, was established in 1988 with a traditional purpose in mind: improve access to information among academic libraries in a city. Initiated by a university library and supported by four college libraries, it was a library cooperative confined within a defined area and relied primarily on the personal finances of the head librarians. The single, primary purpose of the cooperation was to allow students and faculty to have physical access to the resources of each other’s libraries. The original intent was to remain all-exclusive, but vigorous requests from smaller and economically disadvantaged libraries in other regions could not be ignored. After ten years of being private, ALINET went public. From an initial membership of five, there are now 51 members from various parts of Mindanao.
ALINET is library cooperation in the true sense of the word. It has limited financial resources, so a library volunteers to maintain a bibliographic database and members pay a “at cost” fee when attending ALINET-sponsored seminars and workshops. In spite of limited financial resources, computers were given out to small member libraries. In this library cooperative, information rich libraries do not fear resources being depleted even if sharing is not equally reciprocated by information-starved libraries.