Networking of libraries refers to the systematic linking of libraries through communication technologies, common standards, cooperative agreements and shared information systems so that their resources, services and expertise can be made available to users beyond the physical boundaries of an individual library. In the Academic Library System, networking has become an essential mechanism for effective resource sharing because no single academic library can acquire, preserve and provide access to every information resource required by students, teachers, researchers and other users. The rapid growth of scholarly literature, increasing costs of books and journals, expansion of electronic resources and changing information needs have made cooperation among libraries increasingly important. The basic purpose of library networking is to connect libraries and information centres so that they can collectively use their resources. Academic libraries may differ in size, collection strength, infrastructure and financial capacity. One university library may possess a strong collection in science and technology, while another may have extensive holdings in humanities or social sciences. Through networking, these complementary resources can be made accessible to users of participating institutions. Thus, networking transforms individual library collections into a broader collective resource. Resource sharing includes several activities such as inter-library loan, document delivery, cooperative acquisition, union catalogues, shared databases, reciprocal borrowing, exchange of bibliographic information, cooperative cataloguing and access to electronic resources. Library networking provides the technological and organisational framework through which these activities can operate efficiently. Instead of each library working independently, participating institutions coordinate their activities and share information about their collections and services. One of the most important contributions of networking is the development of union catalogues. A union catalogue contains bibliographic records of resources held by several libraries. Academic users can search such a catalogue to identify which participating library possesses a required book, journal, thesis, research report or other document. This saves the user from searching individual library catalogues separately. In India, networks and systems such as INFLIBNET have played a significant role in facilitating cooperation among university and college libraries. Platforms such as IndCat provide information about holdings across participating academic libraries and support resource discovery. Inter-library loan is another major area in which networking makes resource sharing effective. A student or researcher may require a book or article that is not available