The CBUC was set up in late 1996 as a public body with its own legal status. It is composed of a Governing Council, an Executive Committee, a Technical Committee, a Technical Office and Working Groups. The Governing Council is composed of two representatives of each member institution, the Executive Committee regulates the functioning of the CBUC, and the Technical Committee - composed of the directors of the Libraries - examines the proposals for action and monitors their progress. The CBUC has a Technical Office composed of seven persons who coordinate and implement the annual working plan. The basis of the programs of the CBUC are the Working Groups. These are composed of experts from the libraries who meet regularly or on an ad hoc basis according to the needs. The CBUC carries out other activities such as joint purchases, training programmes, traductions, creation of a protocol for evaluating library services, etc.