The Maryland State Library Network serves over 400 libraries throughout the State, primarily through interlibrary loan of materials and information. The Network consists of the State Library Resource Center (Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore); 3 regional library resource centers (Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland, Western Maryland); 4 academic libraries lending specialized materials; and over 125 libraries that fill interlibrary loan requests from their collections.
Patrons may identify and locate library materials by searching catalogs linked to Sailor, an online public information network. Sailor connects Marylanders and their libraries to resources within the State and worldwide, providing access to the Internet and to e-mail. Opened in 1994, Sailor is available through modem-equipped computers from homes, schools, and offices; and free through many libraries.
Maryland residents may register with and borrow materials from any public library in the State. Information and materials found through the Network may be mailed, trucked, or transferred electronically to a local library. The public checked out over 44.7 million items in 1994.
Libraries of note: Enoch Pratt Free Library, and the Johns Hopkins University Libraries, Baltimore; the State Law Library, and Nimitz Library of the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis; National Library of Medicine, Bethesda; University System of Maryland Libraries; National Agricultural Library, Beltsville; National Institute of Standards and Technology Research Information Center, Gaithersburg; National Criminal Justice Reference Service of the National Institute of Justice, Rockville; Library of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring; and U.S. Bureau of the Census Library, Suitland. As the regional depository for Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland, College Park, receives all publications of the U.S. government designated for deposit.
© Copyright July 06, 1998 Maryland State Archives