Introduction

The papers in this special double issue of Collection Management address the growing endeavors of shared print repositories and programs in academic libraries, representing a global perspective with articles from Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and the United States. As a whole, the articles illustrate the complicated processes and challenges of coordinating selection, determining storage agreements (distributed or shared), defining ownership, developing business models, and a host of collection maintenance issues. What really stands out after reading the twelve articles is the immense collaboration these efforts entail, regardless of the size of the project. Luckily, librarians are good at collaboration, but they are not always good at forging ahead into an uncertain future with regard to print collections. Fortunately for the library world, these articles illustrate that many engaged librarians are working on the complicated issues surrounding building shared repositories, many who are motivated and unafraid to see where the future takes us.