Abstract

There is a recognition that traditional resource sharing methods such as interlibrary lending and document delivery are now inadequate to meet user needs in the increasingly networked environment. The current study identifies barriers to resource sharing and provides analysis of stakeholders engaged in resource sharing. Focused interviews with six professional librarians were also carried out to seek out deeper understanding of perceptions of barriers among librarians. Results show that the size of the library was not necessarily result in active resource sharing. There was a wide gap among librarians in terms of their attitudinal and organizational orientations towards resource sharing. Barriers specifically identified in the study include the narrowly defined notion among librarians of what constitutes research and the untested fear of swamping where there is an imbalance of collections. Overall, while resource sharing is recognized as an integral part of library services, it seriously lacks funding and staff. The study recommends earnest efforts to build librarians' community to invigorate resource sharing among libraries.