News Release — Project ReShare Membership Expands with Addition of Auraria Library, Stanford University Libraries, and the Western North Carolina Library Network

April 5, 2021

Project ReShare is pleased to announce three new members that increase the diversity of the project, both in types of organizations and geography — Auraria Library, Stanford University Libraries, and the Western North Carolina Library Network. 

Auraria Library, located in downtown Denver, serves three institutions of higher education on one campus: University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), and Community College of Denver (CCD). Auraria Library serves a diverse population and supports various curricular and research programs. MSU Denver & CCD are Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and 48% of CU Denver’s students identify as students of color. The vision of the Auraria campus when created in the 1970’s was one of consolidation and collaboration; a place where a student could attend community college, transfer to a 4-year college, and go on to earn a graduate degree all on the same campus. While that vision has changed over the years as each institution has carved out its own identity, the library continues to be one of the few shared resources and services. 

Auraria is actively striving to change the future of resource sharing. The SILLVR pilot project, launched in January 2020, is the first library-to-library streaming video borrowing project in the country. Auraria Library in collaboration with the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries secured streaming video partners to continue the project into 2021. The consortium also was chosen to partner with ProQuest to launch a new EBook ILL pilot in 2021. 

“Auraria Library cares deeply about equity of access to content, collaboration, and reimagining the future of ILL,” explained, Katy DiVittorio, Collections Strategies, Department Head. “This is one of our primary reasons for wanting to join Project ReShare.” Auraria is contributing financial resources, working group participation, and workflow expertise gained from SILLVR implementation.

Stanford Libraries has a tradition of commitment to open source tools, their development, and their communities, including work with Blacklight, IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework), and most recently in the resource sharing sphere of the Ivy Plus Library Confederation. Stanford Libraries appreciates the flexibility and scalability of the ReShare platform, notably its interoperability with a variety of integrated library systems and the plans for non-returnables and controlled digital lending, which will enable Stanford Libraries to work more efficiently with lending partners and consortia. 

The governance of Project ReShare also aligns with the values and culture of Stanford Libraries. “The shared governance model that enables community input and the focus of the project on usability from the very beginning offers an environment well suited to responding to our patrons’ changing resource sharing needs,” explained Hilary Thorsen, Resource Sharing Librarian. Stanford has recently become actively engaged with the FOLIO community and is interested in monitoring and contributing to potential synergies among the two projects.  

Stanford Libraries has made a three-year financial commitment to Project ReShare and plans to actively participate in working groups to help define and apply best practices, including possible integrations with Blacklight. 

The Western North Carolina Library Network (WNCLN) is a three-member consortium consisting of the western North Carolina academic institutions of Western Carolina University; the University of North Carolina, Asheville; and Appalachian State University. WNCLN currently shares an ILS (III Sierra), runs a book delivery service between the three institutions, jointly licenses shared e-resources, and shares professional expertise among staff. The Network has a long history of resource sharing and commitment to sharing collections and expertise and wants to expand that commitment to library users across the state of North Carolina and beyond.

Consortial resource sharing is a strategic priority for WNCLN and integral to two current endeavors — a shared print initiative with other UNC libraries and migration to a new library services platform. Project ReShare could serve as the technical infrastructure to provide streamlined resource sharing services between WNCLN, the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), other NC universities, and other neighboring consortia. 

“The vision of Project ReShare aligns with the mission of WNCLN to foster active cooperation and collaboration among member libraries,” said Kristin Calvert, Head of Discovery and Technology Services, Western Carolina University. “We are eager to participate in this collaborative community and to contribute to its important work — work that is timely for us.”

Like Auraria Library and Stanford Libraries, WNCLN will contribute financially and also will provide staff for web development and VuFind development. Project ReShare enthusiastically welcomes these new members and their many contributions.

Background

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 a new standard for how we connect library patrons to the resources and information they require.

For more information, contact info@projectreshare.org.

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Media Contact

Lisa Croucher
Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN): trln.org, Executive Director
Project ReShare: projectreshare.org, Communication Team, Chair
info@projectreshare.org