| This dissertation provides (1) an historical overview of interlibrary cooperation in the U.S. between 1876 and 1945, and an exploration of its various aspects and their interrelationships; (2) an assessment of the American Library Association's role in projects for sharing of resources for research from 1922 to 1945; and (3) an analysis of the major issues raised through the Association by the concept of sharing of resources. While the literature on interlibrary cooperation is extensive, the development of resource sharing projects for research library materials in the U.S. has never been traced in detail; and while the role of the American Library Association has been accepted, it has never been described.;The American Library Association's most conspicuous successes involved the various national union lists, interlibrary loan codes, cooperative cataloging and indexing projects, and regional evaluations of library resources; its most conspicuous failure involved microphotography. The Association became a major force in national resource sharing programs to the extent that its committees functioned well in stimulating a wide range of specific programs. Most of the major post-World War II resource sharing activities can be seen to have received their conceptual origin during pre-1945 annual conference programs or in the discussions, plans, and specific programs of the various units of the American Library Association.;Chapter 1 summarizes the development of the American research community and its impact on libraries before 1945, while Chapter 2 discusses the American Library Association's organizational development through 1945 and its sponsorship of cooperative programs before 1922. Chapters 3 through 9 study cooperative acquisitions, subject field specialization, and bibliographical and physical access. Three appendices complete the study: membership of ALA committees specifically involved in resource sharing, 1922-1945; a chronology of significant resource sharing events and publications, 1876-1945; and a descriptive survey of sources used. These include published articles, lists, and reports; materials from the personal papers of over a dozen of the professional leaders involved in early resource sharing activities; and, for the first time, holdings from the archives of the American Library Association located at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. |
