The Network Library System: The History and Description of an Evolving Library‐Developed System Available to Purchase

The Network Library System (NLS) is a collaborative development project undertaken by the University of Wisconsin‐Madison Libraries and the University of Chicago Libraries. Efforts to develop the system began in the 1970s. The conceptualization of the system, cooperative efforts to develop the system, and subsequent changes to the system due to such factors as the appearance on the market of alternative systems, are described. Current plans, which call for the linking of the NOTIS system with components of the NLS system, are covered in a sidebar at the end of the article.