June 20, 2019
Project ReShare is pleased to announce its new ReShare Founding Members Program and Certified Service Provider Program, with opportunities for libraries, consortia, and service provider organizations to engage with the project and support its efforts to create a sustainable, open source, user-centered resource sharing platform for libraries.
For the past year, a cohort of academic, consortial, and commercial partners have engaged with Project ReShare, a groundbreaking effort to construct a new resource sharing platform for and by the library community. The platform is Open Source, and it is the outcome of a strategic collaboration between a host of industry partners. Initially focused on patron-initiated consortial borrowing, the ReShare partnership intends to develop the platform into all aspects of library resource sharing. ReShare software development is well underway after an extensive user experience design process, with a Minimum Viable Product due out later this year.
The ReShare Founding Members Program provides a direct path to project participation, offering a variety of benefits to those interested in advancing the Community’s goals. ReShare Membership includes a voice in project governance, recognition on the ReShare website, and discounts with ReShare service providers. Member fees start at $1,500 per year, with options for library consortium discounts and incentives for those joining the program before August 31.
In addition, the ReShare Steering Committee announces its Certified Service Provider Program, aimed at supporting and elevating those service providers who offer ReShare services while adhering to community standards, and giving back to the Community. ReShare takes a radically open and transparent approach to collaboration between non-profit and commercial interests. With that approach in mind, Certified Service Providers commit to open and transparent pricing, caps on annual increases, use of open standards and protocols, participation in leadership roles, contributions of ReShare code, and excellent service to ReShare customers.
Kurt Munson, Head of Access Services, Northwestern University, and, ReShare Steering Committee Member and Product Management Team Chair says, “ReShare Members play a critical role in defining and developing a patron-based vision for resource sharing. This project represents a practical application of the next generation resource sharing vision statements made by the Big Ten Academic Alliance by moving our software away from siloed proprietary solutions toward standards-based, user-centered approaches. ReShare provides us an opportunity to improve service to our users. I hope these new membership options will inspire libraries to join us, get involved, and be a part of the solution.”
The ReShare development team expects the platform to be ready for production-ready use by Summer 2020.
About ReShare
The ReShare Community is a group of libraries, consortia, information organizations, and developers, with both commercial and non-commercial interests, who came together in 2018 to create Project ReShare – a new and open approach to library resource sharing. The ReShare Community has a bold vision for building a user-centered, app-based, community-owned resource sharing platform for libraries to set the standard for how we connect library patrons to the resources and information they require.
Contact info@projectreshare.org for more information
###
Media Contact:
Jill Morris
Project ReShare
PALCI Executive Director
info@projectreshare.org