CO-OPERATION IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES TO READERS IN CONURBATIONS

The development of higher educational institutions in Great Britain in recent years has slowed down. Financial restrictions have meant that new projects are few and that some which had been started have been terminated before they could be completed as originally intended. Furthermore student numbers are, it is predicted, likely to fall. We have reached what it is fashionable to call a period of consolidation and it is therefore · not without interest to look at the library conse-quences of the growth of the last few years. This is of particular importance in large urban areas for there higher educational institutions frequently cluster with marked consequences for the library services they provide. It could be argued that the main airn of co- operation between libraries should be to give greater satisfaction to readers. No doubt other airns could be advocated and one which appeals strongly to those concerned with the financing of libraries is the possible financial economies which ma