AGRICOLA IND 92017549; Presented at the VIII World Congress of IAALD, May, 1990, Budapest, Hungary, The United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN) is the first organization developed specifically to provide a national forum through which U.S. agricultural librarians might address many issues associated with the collection, access and delivery of agricultural information. The objectives of the network include: to provide a forum for discussion of agricultural information issues; to take a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to agriculture; and to make recommendations to the National Agricultural Library on agricultural information matters. The network promotes and assists efforts by the cooperating agencies to: determine the availability and location of resources; develop and implement resource sharing agreements; explore the potentials of shared collection development programs; and maintain and preserve present and future resources. USAIN strives to ensure the fullest possible sharing of information and library materials in the most cost-effective manner. The success of these efforts will help to ensure equality of access and availability of resources for agricultural information users throughout the United States. (original)
