The implications for library administrators, computer controllers and higher education institutes, both now and in the future, will be considered. The roles and job functions of librarians and information professionals have been subject to significant change over the last five to ten years - firstly as a result of automation and, latterly, as a consequence of the advent of networks. The library was responsible for the system conceptualisation and content. Reciprocal arrangements, wherein computing centres contracted with libraries for informational needs, have not been much in evidence. Some researchers describe these new relationships as collaborations or partnerships.
Collaboration creates a shared meaning about a process, a product, or an event.
Schrage s concept of collaboration focuses on the characteristics of the process of interaction among the partners, with emphasis on an intangible shared meaning and a quality of interaction between the participants that can best be described as mutual respect. Now most campuses expect that a CWIS is either available or is being developed by one or more units and both the library and the computing centre would have a valid claim to its being within their strategic province. By combining resources, pooling professional talents and learning from each other, the two units can implement a collaborative project which will enhance the information environment of the campus and yield shared meaning. In a true collaboration, each unit considers the endeavour to be mission critical, while in a contractual relationship only one party would have that view, the other having provision of support services as the primary goal. Also, in a collaboration, risks and benefits are shared, whereas in a contractual arrangement, the contracting party reaps most of the benefit if the project is successful and is the major loser if the project fails.