Have you ever scouted from library to library in search of a book, just to get disappointed? Well, I have, several times! Walking into libraries, have always given us a calm sensation, with so many books surroundings us and the quiet atmosphere is quite addictive but to our dismay, a library cannot possibly have all the books and resources. Its collections are limited, so most libraries try to meet our needs by supplementing their collection through various resource-sharing avenues that permit them to offer their clientele broader access to a world of never-ending materials and resources. One of the ways to achieve this is through Resource Sharing, which is a crucial part of the national planning of library and information services so that it can cater to the needs of “information, education and culture” of an entire community at all its levels.
Libraries- a room full of knowledge, share a very idealistic vision that is to provide unhindered access to information and other resource materials, irrespective of where the resources are geographically located. Hence, a room full of knowledge goes all the way to provide us with a pool of infinite resources which also removes the unnecessary cost of duplicating information resources and also reduces the maintenance cost of the resources. The libraries then try to provide a huge base of resources at minimal expense. And most of the resource sharing at minimal cost has been made possible through technology; libraries have automated systems so that they can list and manage their resources efficiently, furthermore, the addition of different levels of technological infrastructure has facilitated the resource sharing process, seamlessly. And with growing digitization, resource sharing has become intrinsic in accessing knowledge and even spreading them. With such global library cooperation, our access to information is democratized and revolutionized!
-RAJNANDINI BARMAN
