Library Cooperation and the Development of the North Carolina Information Network (NCIN): From the Great Depression Years to 1992

Abstract

The history of the development of library networks, omputerization of library processes, and the uses of technology in libraries in North Carolina needs more attention.1 The acceptance of computerization and technology has been widespread, although many libraries feared that they would be left behind by the technological revolution. To the contrary, not only have North Carolina libraries and librarians worked cooperatively to keep up with technological advances throughout the various decades of the twentieth century since the Great Depression, but also they have been in the vanguard, often on the cutting edge, of the application of technology to librarianship. North Carolina librarians nearing retirement today arguably have seen greater changes in their profession and institutions than in any other time during the last five hundred years. Perhaps it is time to begin telling the story of this great transformation.