PALCI's Virtual Union Catalog: Sharing the Wealth.

One of the newest statewide, academic library consortia, PALCI launched E-ZBorrow, a virtual union catalog, in 1999. Although only 35% of all eligible libraries participate, they serve 73% of the students, employ 66% of the faculty, and represent 66% of the total volumes among PA academic libraries. This article examines requests and loans during the first three years. Both are positively correlated with the size of the institution. Further examination indicates, however, that the Baccalaureate Colleges generated the most requests per user and had a greater demand placed on their collections. It is shown that the collection strength of all libraries increases with participation in E-ZBorrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]