Trends in Resource Sharing--The Florida Experience

By Susan Anderson and Isaac S. Call

A nyone who has vacationed in Orlando or visited the beaches of Ft. Lander- dale, or St. Petersburg will agree that there are many people in Florida. The latest figures released by the Univer-

sity of Florida (August 1989) show that nine coun- ties have grown by more than 1000 percent since the 1950's. One county's population grew b y more than 2000 percent (Tampa Tribune, Aug. 5, 1989). People come to vacation, and many of those vaca- tioners come back to live in the Sunshine State. The myth of a gray-haired retirement society is really a myth. More people move into Florida than move out, and there are also more births than deaths.

Library Automation

One of many challenges has been to provide in- formation services for this increasing population. The advent of automation of library databases in the early 1960's facilitated the sharing of informa- tion and resources. The MARC project which be- gan in 1965 is recognized as having made a great step toward library automation. Its purpose was to make Library of Congress cataloging data avail- able in a machine readable format so that the card production division of the Library of Congress could be automated. This project led to shared cataloging because the records that were created could bP used by various networks that were be- ing formed to share resources.

The formation of OCLC (now the Online Com- puter Library Center, Inc.) provided a model for library consortiums. It began in 1968 as an organi- zation of college and university libraries in Ohio utilizing an online system of shared cataloging.

Susan Anderson is Director of learning Resources at Polk Community College in Winter Haven, Florida. Isaac S. Call is Director Of Instructional Support Services and Telecommunications at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The success of these broad scale efforts to share information has fostered the growth of regional and local consortiums and other types of collabo- rative agreements throughout the country. In Flor- ida there are two active regional consortiums and three more in the planning stages.

Library Consortia

The Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC) began in 1979 as a multi-type library organization to share resources in seven west coast counties. Public, academic and special libraries in Her- nando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties make their resources available throughout the region through daily cou- rier services, a telefacsimile network and an on- line database of seven libraries. As consortium li- braries continue to convert their records to ma- chine readable format, the number of libraries participating in the Sunline Database and the num- ber of records in the system continues to increase.

SEFLIN, the Southeast Florida Library Infor- mation Network was created primarily as a docu- ment transferral cooperative and employs the use of telefacsimile as well as courier service on a dai- ly basis between large public and academic librar- ies in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach area of the state. Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami-Dade Public Library, Broward Community College, Broward County Public Library System, Palm Beach Public Li- brary, the University of Miami, Nova University Law School, Barry University and St. Thomas University all participate in the consortium.

In addition to document transferral, the SEFLIN Union List of Serials provides quick CDRom access to the serials holdings of member collections, totaling over 23,000 unique titles. SEFLINK, the online database, will soon link members to an online public access computer in- formation utility.

A consortium of libraries in the central part of the state, near Orlando, is in its formative stage. A resource network for the Panhandle area of the state is being planned and another network is an- ticipated in the Jacksonville area.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 17

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On a state level, all public supported universi- ties in Florida have been joined in an online data- base of library holdings called LUIS. Funded by the state, and using a variation of NOTIS soft- ware, all of the university holdings have been automated and integrated into one system that can be searched by individual university holdings or by system-wide holdings. The automation system includes circulation, a public access catalog, ac- quisitions, serials control, government documents and special collections. Holdings can be accessed by terminals in the libraries or in certain instances by dial access.

Because libraries in Florida were already shar- ing resources when the state university automa- tion system was funded by the Florida legislature, two community college libraries became automat- ed at the same time. These two colleges, Edison in Fort Myers and Santa Fe in Gainesville were al- ready sharing their collections with the universi- ties, and in fact the library at Edison Community College serves as the library for the Fort Myers campus of the University of South Florida.

The success of the university automation proj- ect and the recognition on the part of the state leg- islature of its obligation to provide access to infor- mation has led to a second large-scale library automation project. In 1989 the state allocated funds to begin automation of the library holdings of the remaining 26 community colleges. This sys- tem will interface with the university system and provide rapid, reliable access to information held in post-secondary institutions throughout the state.

Joint-Use Library Facilities

While these exciting projects have been taking place on a national and state level, individual li- braries have sought innovative ways to serve their communities. Joint-use or shared-use libraries have evolved in several configurations throughout the state to provide library services to communi- ties without duplicating facilities or collections. There are three public library/school library col- lections, six community colleges and universities sharing libraries, two community colleges and high schools sharing libraries, and two community col- leges and public libraries sharing resources.

Examples of public libraries serving school pop- ulations have existed since the first schools and li- braries developed in this country. In Florida, two of these examples are in the Melbourne area and have been in existence for more than 15 years. These libraries were formed to meet specific com- munity needs. No other school/public libraries were established until the Azalea Branch of St. Petersburg Public Library opened in May 1988. The library resulted from five years of planning and study on how to provide library services in a growing urban commercial area with very high land values. City planners realized that the cost of purchasing land for a public library branch was

18 Tech Trends

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prohibitive. At the same time the middle school had outgrown its media center and the school was planning a remodeling project. Combining efforts, resources, staff, and the facility provided a cost effective method to provide necessary information services to two different population groups.

There are two examples of community colleges and high schools sharing libraries in rural areas that are experiencing significant population in- creases. They are the Osceola Campus of Valen- cia Community College in Kissimmee, the closest town to Disney World; and Lecanto Campus of Central Florida Community College in Citrus County, south and west of Ocala. In these two high-growth areas, the educational institutions rec- ognized the need to quickly build campuses to serve new populations and they also recognized that duplication of information services was an un- necessary expense.

In general, the pattern for universities and com- munity colleges sharing information resources has been for one institution to serve as the "hos t" and another as the "guest" . This pattern has allowed institutions to expand educational offerings with- out duplication of costly educational services. Brevard Community College's Cocoa campus pro- vides educational services for students who attend the Cocoa Campus of The University of Central Florida and it has located a branch on the campus of Daytona Beach Community College utilizing DBCC's library and other resources. The South

Campus of Palm Beach Junior College uses the li- brary of Florida Atlantic University. Edison Com- munity College provides information services for the Ft. Myers branch of the University of South Florida and Polk Community College serves its Lakeland Campus. The University of West Flori- da and Okaloosa-Walton Jr. College share a cam- pus and a library administered by the university at Ft. Walton Beach.

Broward Community College, in addition to oth- er innovations in sharing information resources has recently (Fall 1989)joined with Florida Atlan- tic University to offer junior and senior level courses on the college's Central campus. Informa- tion services will be provided by the college.

The South Regional Library of Broward County Public Library and Broward Community College is a nationally recognized model of how to suc- cessfully provide information services to a grow- ing and diverse community. The model has been so successful that another shared college/public li- brary is in the planning stages for the North Campus.

The BCC/South Regional Library facility repre- sents Florida's first effort in a joint project to combine the resources of a public community col- lege and a county library system. Construction of the $5 million, 60 thousand square foot structure was financed jointly by the state of Florida and matched with funds from a county bond issue.

Materials from the existing college and public li- brary collections were combined to form the initial collection which has now grown to over 200,000 volumes and 850 periodical subscriptions. The County provides funding for the staff, books, peri- odicals, supplies and services. The college faculty selects a percentage of these materials annually. The college provides maintenance, repairs, custo- dial and security services, and utilities. A campus Library/Learning Resources committee, com- prised of college faculty and staff and public li- brary personnel, is responsible for determining routine operational procedures within the parame- ters of the contractual agreement.

The facility is open seven days a week and has established a reputation for providing quality ser- vice to both college students and public patrons alike. In fact, the student who uses the library during one part of the day may very likely use the library at another time as a public patron.

Since the facility first opened in October 1983 it has become the busiest of Broward County's 23 li- braries. This drawing card could easily account for a portion of the growth experienced at the col- lege's South Campus during recent years. With this degree of success, it is easy to understand why a similar facility is being planned for the North Campus.

Teleconference Network

While traditional library resources were being computerized, the Florida legislature took another step forward. Recognizing the need to share a va- riety of information sources such as lectures and conferences, it funded a satellite downlink net-

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 19

The BCC/South Regional Library is operated totall7 as a joint-use facility fbr students and public alike. In 1986 the facility received the Governor's Design Award, given in recognition o,f outstanding achievement in the development o f public facilities.

work facilitating teleconferencing throughout the state. Most of these 28 downlink sites are at com- munity colleges, whose missions assure that these sites are available for general community use.

Instructional Television

Another example of a collaborative effort to share resources in Florida is the State's Instruc- tional Television Consortium. Through this organi- zation the school systems, universities and com- munity colleges periodically screen and evaluate telecourse materials which are then acquired through the State Department of Instructional Television and Radio (ITV&R). The department of ITV&R negotiates lease agreements with the pro- ducers of the recommended programs and/or se- ries which make them available for use by state supported educational institutions for as long as the lease is in effect. In order for a state institu- tion to acquire copies of the telecourses, blank tape stock is sent to the state's duplicating center where the programs are dubbed and returned to the institution. User institutions report enrollment figures through the state department so that head fees can be paid directly by participating institu- tions to the telecourse producer.

This arrangement has made it possible for a large number of Florida's community colleges to develop extensive "Open Colleges" (telecourse offerings) catering to those individuals who cannot attend courses on campus. These individuals may be handicapped or have work or family responsi- bilities that prohibit attending regular college courses. The telecourses offer them a unique op- portunity to gain college credits from their own homes.

20 Tech Trends

FIRN (Florida Information Resource Network)

FIRN is an electronic communications network providing services for public educational institu- tions. Electronic mail, electronic bulletin boards and online files are available. Passwords are avail- able for both individuals and institutions and the system can be accessed through local telephone systems or toll-free numbers. The system contains general information bulletin boards such as those produced by the department of education and spe- cial interest bulletin boards such as the teleconfer- ence system. Even the university bibliographic da- tabase (LUIS) uses FIRN to transmit information.

Future Trends

Sharing resources in Florida has provided a cost-effective means of providing access to infor- mation for Florida's growing population. Electron- ic technology has made this resource sharing pos- sible. As new technologies emerge and existing ones change, innovations in sharing resources will be incorporated in current networks or become new information networks. The community college bibliographic network is only one example of new information networks being formed. A next step may be to develop automated networks of public school resources or those of private industry.

Sandy beaches and beautiful sunsets are reality in Florida. While the state provides a wonderful playground for vacationers, it is also home to a growing population. Sharing resources is an essen- tial and exciting way of providing the information necessary for continued growth in education, in- dustry and recreation. �9