Abstract
BIBSAM is an office within the Royal Library of Sweden, dealing with the coordination and development of Swedish research libraries. Cooperation between research libraries is traditionally highly developed in Sweden. However, the decentralization of higher education, and the delegation of library funding from the government to individual universities and colleges, has directed more attention to local functions and services. Charges for interlibrary loans are one logical consequence. The system of national resource libraries enables a small number of libraries, each of them central within its respective subject area, to maintain and develop services to other libraries. Collection development does not form a central part of the system. The idea of national coordination has to be seen in an international perspective, and BIBSAM's work increasingly reflects this. Reforms of higher education, economic crisis, rapid technological progress, and internationalization impose radically increased demands on libraries and librarians. By means such as conferences, seminars, etc. BIBSAM assists in developing competence and competitiveness.
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