Cooperative virtual libraries : training librarians and editors via the Internet

Abstract

For developing regions with a strong tradition in building cooperative bibliographic databases, accessing the documents cited in cooperative bibliographies has proved to be a very frustrating experience. Such is the case for Latin American countries, which share the use of the Spanish and Portuguese languages. Reduced number of copies printed of academic books and journals (average 500 copies), lack of budget for distribution of complimentary copies of publications, inadequate library infrastructure and extremely high costs of postage that make interlibrary loans among cities and countries nearly non-existent, are among the main factors that contribute to difficulties in accessing the documents mentioned in regional cooperative bibliographies. In the social sciences, discontinuity in library and journal collections because of the discontinuity in support of the social sciences worsens this situation.