The model of the "Alexandrian Library," that is, the gathering of all available recorded knowledge in one space, does not correspond to today's reality.

In the modern library, the balance is gradually shifting from the acquisition, collection, and organization of informational material towards access to information sources, interconnection, and the integration of information systems and services, through the operation of collaborative-consortium schemes.

Utilizing systemic thinking, it is examined how the evolution of the levels of collaboration among libraries is influenced by developments in the respective available information technologies. The key to interpreting these phenomena lies in the existence of particular characteristics and properties of information in its digital form and the capabilities of the information technologies that manage them.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]