COBIMET Library Consortium: the experiences of a collaborative project of four Hispanic Higher Education Institutions in Puerto Rico

Abstract


 
 
 This paper describes the experiences of the only registered library consortium under the State Department of Puerto Rico, mostly composed by private higher education institutions.The author explains how the Consorcio de Bibliotecas Metropolitanas (COBIMET) was founded and what were the challenges, needs and goals of this collaborative group. To achieve cooperation the members of the consortium considered the common needs of each one of the participating libraries. The areas to work on were technology, library services, information resources, budget constraints and professional development. Among the benefits derived from all activities the participating institutions were able to reduce costs, share knowledge, and explore diverse learning experiences.