Introduction

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 early 1970s and in Florida in the 1990s, for instance (see Bundy, 1998; Aaron, 1992). Despite continued reservations from some within the library profession, the current emphasis on collaboration means that joint use libraries have, probably, never been more relevant to public policy. In the UK, for example, the number of joint use libraries appears to have increased significantly over the last five years; they are seen as a politically attractive option in response to current government initiatives and were advocated in the 2002 Audit Commission report, Building Better Library Services (2002). Elsewhere, growing interest in this area is indicated by the fact that in the United States, the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children), AASL (American Association of School Librarians), and YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) have recently established a Joint Task Force on School/Public Library Cooperative Activities.

This issue of Library Trends brings together articles by both researchers and library professionals to examine recent developments in joint use libraries. The first three articles provide an overview of joint use libraries. Haycock's article draws on more than thirty years of research into joint use libraries to determine predictors of success. Bundy and Amey focus on evaluation, outlining a methodology suited to the unique nature of joint use libraries. McNicol's article considers the effect of joint use libraries on the local community, something that is normally seen as more problematic than the effective provision of library services to educational users. The remaining contributors present case studies from different perspectives and regions of the world. These emphasize the fact that, although joint use libraries are most frequently thought of as shared school-public facilities, there are many other possible combinations.

Even on a small scale, implementing a joint use library can be an extremely complex undertaking. The challenge can be even greater when the project is on a large scale such as a joint university-public library. Dalton Elkin and Hannaford, and Hansson explore these issues. Dalton et al. describes the proposed development in Worcester in the UK, where a joint university-public library is being planned with input from the local further education college as well as the regional chamber of commerce. Hansson looks at joint use library provision in Sweden. Using two examples of joint public-university libraries, he considers whether joint use libraries are "a new form of library" or simply a convenient administrative arrangement.

Sullivan, Taylor, Barrick, and Stelk are, or have previously been, employed at the College Hill Library in Westminster, Colorado, a joint college-public library that has been open since 1998. Their article presents a case study from the perspective of practitioners, describing the background to this development and the main challenges the library has faced as well as the successes it has experienced.

Bauer's article also involves a joint college-public library; she focuses on personnel issues experienced in a joint use library in transition. Building on research carried out in 1995, she considers the implications of moving an existing joint use (middle) school-public library to a college setting.

Medical or healthcare libraries in universities or health provider organizations offer services to both students and healthcare professionals. They are, therefore, effectively joint use libraries although they are often not recognized as such. Dorrington describes recent developments in medical and nursing education...