The Public Library in the Network Mode: A Preliminary Investigation. Commissioned Papers Project, Teachers College, No. 8.

The role of the public library within intertype library networks was studied using published reports and information provided by selected state and regional libraries. Intertype networks cross jurisdictional, and often governmental, boundaries to join academic, special, and public libraries. The history, objectives, methods, and fiscal and administrative structures of intertype networks, their potential for interface with regional and national networks, and their cost effectiveness were assessed. Three large states with the most intertype networking experience--New York, California, and Illinois--were chosen for analysis. Networking activities in Maryland and Washington states were also considered along with the Southwestern Library Interstate Cooperative Enterprise (SLICE), a normative multistate network. It was concluded that the intertype network is a rapidly spreading phenomenon and that the public library system commonly serves as its nucleus. It was recommended that national coordination, with shared state and federal responsibility, should begin. (Author/SL)