The benefit of Foursite: a public library consortium for library management systems

Foursite is a consortium of public library authorities in the south west of the UK which came together to identify their replacement computer requirements, and subsequently went on to share a single system operated by Somerset. The article describes the objectives of the consortium and describes the project in some detail. The roles of the participants are described, and the advantages of joint working are explored. A number of lessons emerged from the project which are described, as are models for contractual arrangements and terms of reference for various stages and groups.