ISTEC's Library Linkages Initiative promotes the use of innovative Science and Technology information-sharing services on a hemispheric scale. The initiative aims to modernize document delivery, broaden electronic availability of research materials, upgrade the information system skills of library staff and users, and to encourage joint hemispheric research on Digital Research Libraries. To meet these goals, projects rely on sister efforts in telecommunications, computers and advanced education exchange programs.

In collaboration with the University of New Mexico Centennial Science and Engineering Library (UNM-CSEL), ISTEC has recently completed the pilot Cooperative Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (CILL) project. From February to July 1994, the project met its four objectives of

• facilitating installation of document transmission software and hardware at chosen test sites;
• training potential users (faculty, staff and students) in researching select U.S. library data bases;
• coordinating electronic request and transmission of documents available at UNM-CSEL to participating sites' Electrical and Computer Engineering libraries;
• gathering sufficient data to expand the project at appropriate levels to all ISTEC members.

On a base budget of $9,000, site visits, training on "Research via Internet" and the creation of an electronic request and delivery system has provided almost 1,000 pages of research documentation to five sites in Brasil, México, España, and Venezuela.

In the follow-on phase, the project intends to service engineering students, staff and professors at the remaining 19 member institution university sites. Select pilot libraries will expand the program to include transmission of humanities archives, to act as "server" libraries for their states or regions, and to begin delivery of Ibero-American articles to U.S. information centers. Site visits during the CILL pilot project confirm the hypothesis that Ibero-American university librarians are utilizing, or moving toward, on-line catalogues, have unique periodical collections, and have access to country-specific indexes and data bases usually in CD-ROM form. All involved sites will begin supplying a nascent ISTEC Ibero-American Science and Technology data base with this information and with publications borne of remotely accessed research documents.

At the present time ISTEC is looking for partners interested in collaborating. Open areas include the following:

• document delivery stations (computer, scanner and laser printer)
  Bridges, terminal servers, routers
  Scanners and Laser Printers
  Document delivery software

• contacts with U.S. Science and Engineering indexers desirous of entering the Ibero-American region
• educational materials on the use of the Internet to incorporate into the ISTEC training plan.
  (ex: we are currently distributing the first version of "Crossing the Internet Threshhold" to ISTEC members. The document has also found a Brazilian-funded translation source.)
• research partners with hemispheric bent for digital libraries, hypertext data bases, collaboration technology, multimedia, computer networking, communication protocols, and other related fields

Global Library Quantum.