Library and Information Science Commons^™

Using The Community Information Format To Create Public Service Resource Network, Marilyn Lutz, Sharon Quinn Fitzgerald, Thomas Zantow

Library Staff Publications

The University of Maine public service resource network is a database that identifies faculty members who consult in their areas of expertise. The network was developed using the USMARC Community Information Format. A persistent problem in developing a workable interface between university resources and community needs, until recently, has been the issue of access, and the barriers that flow from isolation and unfamiliarity. Electronic information technologies are breaking down these barriers and have emerged as the mechanism for networking academic expertise within the university itself and linking that expertise with society at large.