Compromise or supplement?—The case of Chinese joint-use libraries

Abstract

This article considers joint-use libraries from several perspectives, including their reasons for existing, management structure, collection development, venue ownership and service. Three models—total integration, selective integration, and minimal integration—are used to analyze these characteristics, and three case studies from China are provided to illustrate how these forms of integration have played out. We find that China's situation is basically consistent with prior research results on joint-use libraries; one party in the joint-use partnership may be more vulnerable to total integration, but the “weakening” of one party's functions may also come about through a voluntary ceding of power. Selective integration and minimal integration, meanwhile, can also cause competition and conflict over resource control and ascription of responsibility, but it provides more opportunities for cooperation and more room for growth. This study complements existing knowledge of joint-use libraries with Chinese cases and provides a comparative analysis of the relationship among the practical effects of different joint-use library models.