The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research is by definition a center of science and technology, but its information is for everyone. FIPR is a state agency and reports administratively to the University of South Florida. As such, its library is a full-service public library that serves all of Florida's citizens.

The library checks out books and provides interlibrary loan service to any Florida resident. It provides reference service not only to those in Florida, but throughout the world. The library gets inquiries regularly from as far away as Russia, China, South Africa and Australia. FIPR is known for striving to get patrons near and far the information they need as quickly as possible.

FIPR's librarians are unique because they have in-depth knowledge of the subject -- phosphate -- that the FIPR collection embodies. With this subject knowledge, they can be a bridge between the scientific/technical community that generates the literature and the library user.

In the past few years FIPR's library and the University of South Florida library system have been working to strengthen their affiliation. The closer connection allows FIPR to access resources such as the expertise it needs to build a digital graphic library and USF to learn from FIPR librarians about providing services associated with a specialized research collection. This connection will also make the FIPR collection available to USF as they strive to become an acknowledged research library.

A vital part of servicing a special collection is finding ways to make sure people who might need the information know that it exists and are able to get it. Typical challenges for a special library like FIPR are size and limited resources. For more than two decades, libraries in west central Florida have banded together to share resources and knowledge. FIPR has been central in the growth of that coalition, known at the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, or TBLC. FIPR's current library director, Gary Albarelli, serves on the consortium board of directors that helps formulate its policy and direction.

All this is important because FIPR has a unique collection and few, if any, other libraries have many of the the resources this collection houses. Working closely with other libraries in our region and state makes our resources widely available. It also gives FIPR librarians the opportunity to keep abreast of new developments in their profession and provides the FIPR library with cost-effective ways to expand the service it provides.