The IRVING Library Network: Linking Local Dissimilar Systems Available to Purchase

What started as a pilot project in 1985 has become a successful online tool for resource sharing today. The IRVING Network gives libraries with incompatible computers the ability to access each other's current catalog, determine circulation status, and process interlibrary loan transactions, while maintaining the integrity of their own systems. Although communication standards are evolving through the efforts of the Linked Systems Project, cooperative vendor programs in AVIAC, and Standards Committee D of NISO, it may be years before the majority of vendors can implement the standards and offer network packages to libraries across the country. In the meantime, the IRVING Library Network presents a practical, working solution to the problem of linking heterogenous library systems.