A MAN for all reasons

All of a sudden the regions are fashionable. The potential benefits of co-operation and strategic planning at regional level and of providing an enhanced role for Regional Library Systems have been raised in a number of contexts recently. One thinks of the Anderson Report, the Public Library Review, the Apt Review of Co-operation and the Broadvision review of Library and Information Plans (LIPs). The nations of Scotland and Wales also have a well-developed sense of place and the possibilities which lie in co-operation. Regional assemblies, regional development authorities, Metropolitan Area Networks and regional transport systems are all refocusing interest on what might be considered another facet of distributed systems.