The debate of Access versus Ownership and Library Consortia

Abstract

The greatest upheaval in the library history that occurred after the invention of the Printing Press in the fifteenth century has been seen in the last two decades of the twentieth century due to a series of technological advancements. These breakthroughs in technology included the development of the Computer and the advent of the Internet. This led to the birth of the phrases "Access versus Ownership" and "Library Consortium". In this article both these phrases are discussed in detail. The benefits of consortia have also been briefly discussed.