Introduction.(joint use libraries forecast and trends)

Libraries in all sectors are coming under increasing pressure from governments and other policymakers to cooperate. Various factors might drive this call, including funding constraints in both the library and education sectors; calls for schools to improve links with their local communities; and the trend for public libraries to offer other community services to help attract nontraditional users. Although cooperation might take many forms, including resource sharing, reciprocal access arrangements, joint promotions, and collaborative learning activities, joint use libraries serving two or more client groups in the same building are, as Bundy (2002) has put it, "the ultimate form of co-operation."

Although the concept of joint use libraries dates back to the nineteenth century, their popularity has fluctuated over time and from region to region. There was political support for the concept in South Australia in the earl), 1970s and in Florida in the 1990s, for instance (see Bundy, 1998; Aaron, 1992). Despite continued reservations from some within the library…