Thinking about volunteering with ReShare? Read this FAQ!

As Project ReShare’s Volunteer Drive continues, some questions have come up from folks about the ReShare committees. Here are answers to the questions we’ve received most often. Hopefully they can help you decide if joining a ReShare committee is right for you!

Am I even eligible to join a committee?

Yes!

  • Product Committee has at-large seats, which do not require the person to be affiliated with a ReShare member institution at all, meaning anyone can apply for those seats!
  • The Marketing & Communications Committee and the Community Engagement Committee require its committee members to be affiliated with a ReShare member institution.
  • Steering Committee has the most requirements, with a person needing to be both affiliated with a ReShare member institution AND being either their institution’s voting representative or designated by their institution’s voting representative.
Regardless of whether or not your institution is a member of ReShare–whether you’re in leadership or in your Interlibrary Loan department there are volunteer opportunities available for you!

How do I know if I’m affiliated with a ReShare member institution?

You are affiliated with a ReShare member institution if you either:

If you fall into at least one of those three categories, congratulations! You’re affiliated!

I’m new to ReShare. Am I qualified to join a committee?

Yes! Whether you have been with ReShare since it first started or just recently joined, you’re able to join a committee.
We ask that committee members have an interest in what they volunteer for, but you don’t need to have any special credentials to join any committee. We have volunteers who have backgrounds in resource sharing, collections, program & project management, preservation, and law, to name a few, and we’re always looking for new people with new experiences to help our community grow. If you have interest and enthusiasm, we can find a place for you in a committee!

How much time does it take to participate on a committee?

The Steering, Marketing and Communications, and Community Engagement Committees meet every other week, for 60-90 minutes. The Product Committee meets monthly for 90 minutes. In addition to meetings, you will likely be asked to contribute a few hours a month for either asynchronous work (e.g. writing, research, planning) or ad hoc project meetings. On average, expect to contribute to committee work another 5 hours a month outside of meetings.

I have more questions that aren’t answered here. Who should I talk to?

You can always contact ReShare’s Community Engagement Committee at community-engagement@projectreshare.org. Someone from that committee will respond with either answers to your questions or by getting you in touch with someone else on the project who can help.

We are accepting applications for new volunteers until the end of the day on Monday, September 21. Apply today at bit.ly/VolunteerReShare!

Project ReShare Volunteer Opportunities for the Fall!

Project ReShare is looking for new members for several committees beginning in September! The Steering Committee, Community Engagement Committee, Marketing & Communications Committee, and Product Committee all have opportunities for people interested in helping Project ReShare reach its full potential. Learn more details about each specific opportunity and sign up to volunteer via the Google Form linked below:

https://bit.ly/VolunteerReShare

Please indicate why you are interested in participating in the selected committee. Consider including a brief note of support from a supervisor confirming your ability to meet the committee’s time commitment needs.

Please complete the application form by your local close of business on Monday, September 21.

If you have any questions about these exciting volunteer opportunities or any issues completing the form before the stated deadline, please contact the Community Engagement Committee at community-engagement@projectreshare.org.

July 2026 ReShare Open Community Meeting Recording Now Available

We’re pleased to share the recording from the July 2026 ReShare Open Community Meeting.

The meeting begun by announcing the project’s newest Steering Committee members. Next, conveners from Communications, Community Engagement, and Product gave updates from their committees. To close things out, Allen Jones (The New School), Mark Sullivan (IDS Network) and Sae Ra Germaine (CAVAL) spoke about the IDS Network’s CrossLink project and how Project ReShare will be leveraging that software to build the next generation of ReShare.

Project ReShare Community Meeting on July 9th – Registration Now Open!

Project ReShare is holding an open community meeting on Thursday, July 9th, at 3:30 EDT (July 10th, 5:30am AEST). This meeting will feature the usual updates, plus guest presenters with updates on CrossLink.

The meeting is expected to last approximately 1 hour.

The meeting will include: 

  • News and announcements
  • Steering Committee election results
  • Committee updates
    • Community Engagement
    • Comms & Marketing
    • Product
  • CrossLink lightning talks from Mark Sullivan (IDS) and Allen Jones (The New School)

Who should attend this meeting?

  • Staff at all current ReShare members and their affiliated organizations
  • Anyone interested in learning more about Project ReShare

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/DU7oVJ8aT_KdICTYR4aZng

After your registration is approved, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you!

Project ReShare Community Engagement Committee

Steering Committee Election Results

ReShare is delighted to announce the election of three new members to the Project ReShare Steering Committee. The election was held from May 1 to May 15.

Our newly elected Steering Committee is bringing valuable expertise, energy, and fresh perspectives to drive ReShare’s mission forward. We’re excited for the collaboration ahead and confident that this momentum will lead us to continued success. If you have questions or are interested in becoming more involved with ReShare, please reach out to us – we’d love to connect with you! 

New Steering Committee Members

Sae Ra Germaine is the Deputy CEO of CAVAL, an Australian not-for-profit library services organization, where she oversees digital platforms and member services. With two decades of expertise in resource sharing systems and open source technology, Sae Ra was a central figure in the successful 2025 national-scale implementation of ReShare for Australia’s Trove network, supporting nearly 300 libraries. She is a long-standing contributor to the ReShare community, currently serving on the Product and Subject Matter Experts Committees and co-authored strategic work on standards-based lending networks. Her extensive leadership background includes serving as Board Chair for numerous Australian open technology and library communities, providing her with deep experience in translating complex objectives into scalable open source solutions.

In her new role on the Steering Committee, Sae Ra is dedicated to contributing her strategic thinking and digital delivery expertise to support strong project governance and sustainability. She is motivated by the opportunity to work across international borders and bring diverse, global perspectives to ReShare’s strategic priorities. Sae Ra’s approach is collaborative and outcomes-focused, with a professional commitment to building the systems and structures that enable long-term community impact. As a passionate advocate for open technology, she is focused on ensuring transparent decision-making and continuous improvement as Project ReShare continues to expand its global reach.

Carl Piraneo is the Director of Resource Sharing & Member Services at PALCI, where he leads the consortium’s resource-sharing initiatives and manages EZBorrow, a service powered by Project ReShare. Carl brings a wealth of hands-on experience from his years working directly in libraries with interlibrary loan and has been a deeply engaged member of the ReShare community since joining PALCI. His expertise in open source governance and sustainability is further informed by his involvement with the Hyku institutional repository and an upcoming NISO open ILS working group. For the past year, Carl has provided critical continuity to the project by serving as the Product Committee liaison to the Steering Committee.

In his new role as an elected member of the Steering Committee, Carl is focused on stewarding Project ReShare through its transition toward a more modular, broker-capable architecture via the CrossLink integration. He is currently co-leading multiple PALCI working groups that address the technical and legal complexities of DRM-free eBook lending and cross-consortial resource sharing strategies—priorities that align closely with ReShare’s strategic roadmap. Carl is dedicated to ensuring that the platform’s strategic direction remains community-driven and that it continues to empower libraries with the agency required to meet the evolving needs of their patrons.

Mark Sullivan is the Executive Director of the IDS Network, a resource-sharing cooperative of 120 academic libraries, and serves as the Principal Investigator and Project Director for the CrossLink initiative. With over twenty years of experience in resource-sharing technologies, Mark brings a rare combination of deep technical expertise in servers and programming alongside a background in law, providing a multifaceted perspective on both software infrastructure and project governance. His leadership has been a driving force behind developing IDS Network’s Crosslink, a neutral, standards-based middleware designed to empower libraries with greater agency in the resource-sharing marketplace.

In his new role on the Steering Committee, Mark is dedicated to advancing the ReShare mission by focusing on the development of non-returnables and the strategic integration of CrossLink. He is also looking to integrate document remediation support using Arizona/Ohio States’ Remediation Server to ensure accessible documents for our members. Mark is an important member of the resource sharing community and will help Project ReShare achieve long-term sustainability while fostering deeper collaboration across the library ecosystem.

Thank you to departing members

We extend our deepest gratitude to our outgoing Steering Committee members – Charlie Barlow, Jill Morris, and Boaz Nadav-Manes – for their extraordinary leadership and instrumental contributions to Project ReShare. Each has played a vital role in advancing the project from its early stages into a legitimate and competitive alternative in the library resource sharing marketplace. 

ReShare’s Role in Australia’s Library Revolution

ReShare believes that open standards and collaboration are the keys to progress in resource sharing, and it’s always inspiring to see new models take shape around the world. We’re particularly excited about the approach outlined in “How Australia Built a Standards-Based National Lending Network” in Katina Magazine, written by Allen Jones (Senior Director of Digital Libraries and Technical Services at the New School and ReShare SME co-convener) and Sae Ra Germaine (Deputy CEO of CAVAL and ReShare Product Committee member). 

The article tells the story of Australia’s move towards a “network of networks”, breaking traditional boundaries and connecting libraries across sectors using standards like ISO 18626. This piece is worth a read in full to understand the full architecture, but two highlights stand out for ReShare:

  • ReShare as the Backbone for National Resource Sharing

Australia chose Project ReShare as the backbone for Trove’s national resource sharing infrastructure, enabling hundreds of partner institutions to exchange requests on open, standards-based technology. By connecting academic networks and all Trove members through ReShare and IDS Network’s CrossLink, libraries aren’t limited by vendor platforms. 

  • Seamless Interoperability Powered by Standards 

The project demonstrates real interoperability in action. When a library can’t find an item locally, the system sends the request to another supplying network using ISO 18626. No manual request-reentry, no “throwing requests over the wall.” It’s seamless and exactly the kind of standards-driven library future ReShare is committed to making possible everywhere.

Australia’s journey shows what’s possible when national infrastructure, vendors, and open-source communities come together for transparent resource sharing. We’re proud to be part of this movement and eager to help even more libraries make this vision a reality.

March 2026 Community Meeting Recording Available

We’re pleased to share the recording from the March 2026 ReShare Open Community Meeting.

Members of ReShare’s Communications and Product Committees provided brief updates. James Robinson and Marc Hoffeditz, co-conveners of the Product Committee, provided updates on the redesigned “Road to the Roadmap” process and current development priorities. Hilary Thorsen of the Community Engagement Committee shared results and takeaways from last fall’s Community Engagement Survey. Finally, ReShare’s new Community Manager Ashley Morrison spoke about what she will be working on over the coming months.

Sae Ra and Sebastian talk Open Source

We’re excited to share that ReShare has been in the spotlight on CAVAL’s podcast, Shelf Matters, with the episode “Open Source vs. Big Vendors: A conversation with Sebastian Hammer.” This episode features two familiar faces: Sae Ra Germaine (Deputy CEO of CAVAL and ReShare Product Committee member) and Sebastian Hammer (co-founder of Index Data and ReShare Steering Committee member).

Both Sae Ra and Sebastian reflect on their journeys building and supporting open source library platforms, and Sae Ra noted how rare it is for a national library to embrace open source so fully, highlighting the impressive progress made in Australia and the courage and commitment behind it. Their discussion offers a thoughtful look at what makes community-led resource sharing development special and why openness matters.

We invite everyone interested in library technology, resource sharing, and community led initiatives to listen: Open Source vs. Big Vendors: A conversation with Sebastian Hammer

Thanks to CAVAL and Index Data for highlighting the people and partnership powering ReShare and other open source library initiatives.

Project ReShare Welcomes Ashley Morrison as Community Manager

Project ReShare is pleased to announce that, following the conclusion of a national search,  Ashley Morrison (she/her) joined the Project as Community Manager on February 1. Ashley will support internal coordination and governance across the ReShare Community, which now includes more than eight consortia and 500 libraries worldwide.

As Community Manager, Ashley will:

  • Strengthen and document existing governance and project coordination 
  • Improve internal organizational communication and launch the establishment of a Project Reshare users group.
  • Develop scalable member onboarding and recruitment processes

Ashley brings 15+ years of experience in project and program management, most recently serving as Global Knowledge & Enablement Lead at Apple, where she created a knowledge management strategy for HR and designed operational change management plans to support team members through technological and organizational shifts. Ashley previously served as the Open Education Librarian at the University of Texas at Austin and as the Associate Head of Access Services at North Carolina State University before moving into the private sector. She is passionate about how open, community-owned technology transforms organizations and  how organized communities can drive meaningful change for libraries.

“I’m delighted to join Project ReShare and contribute to a bold vision that centers users and transforms resource sharing! I’m looking forward to connecting with the ReShare community and partnering to advance the project’s priorities through collaboration, documentation, and outreach.”
— Ashley Morrison, Community Manager, Project ReShare

“Ashley’s appointment marks an exciting strategic milestone for Project ReShare as we evolve to better support our growing network. Her expertise in governance and knowledge management paired with her enthusiasm for all things open are exactly what we need as a community. By investing in this role, we are directly advancing our goal of building sustainable, community-owned infrastructure.
— Clara Fehrenbach, Co-Chair of Project ReShare Steering Committee

Please join us in welcoming Ashley to the ReShare Community!

About Project ReShare
 The ReShare Community is a global partnership of libraries, consortia, information organizations, and developers collaborating to build a user-centered, app-based, community-owned resource sharing platform. Learn more at projectreshare.org.

Project ReShare Community Engagement Survey – Open until Oct. 31

The newly formed Project ReShare Community Engagement Committee is responsible for helping connect people in the community to each other and to volunteer opportunities within the Project. Our Committee is asking all interested parties to complete our Community Engagement Survey. The survey is intended to help the committee understand what community initiatives people want to see, what infrastructure can support the community, and where we can improve in making our community as inclusive and engaged as possible.

Survey Link: https://princetonsurvey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86d6nQuZJzL6Xiu

Who can participate? Anyone who is interested! We want to hear from a broad, diverse audience to know how we can better serve all corners of our community. Respondents do not need to work for an institution who is currently a member of Project ReShare or has implemented ReShare. As long as you are interested in seeing the Project ReShare community grow and improve, we want to hear from you!

Deadline: We kindly request that any interested parties complete their responses by the end of day on October 31st, 2025.

Full survey responses will only be viewed by members of the Community Engagement Committee. Partial survey responses may be used in reports and presentations to help improve Project initiatives and infrastructure, and reasonable efforts to anonymize responses will be taken when partial responses are used in this way. Results will be shared at a future ReShare Community Meeting and will help focus our Committee’s efforts to support the ReShare community.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey. If you have any questions about this survey or the Committee, please contact us at community-engagement@projectreshare.org.