ABSTRACT
In a 1993 article on the history of cooperative collection development in the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), Patricia Domínguez and Luke Swindler define the rationale for success as the achievement of Interlocked collections. “The resulting interdependent collections provide a breadth and depth of coverage that would be impossible for individual institutions to achieve on their own.” 1 There is no question that the ever-increasing cost of library materials drives libraries to search for ways to extend their buying power and increase the availability of diverse material for their patrons. Dan Hazen argues that a cooperative collection development project must meet one or several of the following criteria (all of which are not necessarily compatible goals):
Broadening access-acquiring a broader variety of material;
Containing cost-saving money by reducing redundancy;
Improving coverage-attempting to ensure complete coverage; and
Ensuring the exotic-buying material that is not used frequently or at the present time but will be needed in the future. 2
