Shared Print Program

Shared Print Program

The Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Shared Print Collection is a key focus of the work to unite the collections of the Big Ten university libraries moving toward the goal of “one collection, shared, and fully networked.” Bringing BTAA shared print collections to a new scale enables the member libraries to make their existing print collections more durable and accessible. Creating and collectively investing in the largest shared print collection in North America offers opportunities to shape the broader landscape of shared print and lead in creating new value for users and the libraries managing print content into the future.

See: Building the Future of Collective Stewardship: The Big Ten Shared Print Collection  (Dec. 2024 White Paper) for an overview of the vision and community work on the Shared Print Collection.

Note: Periodic updates on Shared Print Collection activity are distributed through an Interest Group Mailing List that is available to all member library employees. Visit https://bit.ly/btaa-spp to sign up.


Up now: expanding to distributed shared print 

Within the next year, the growth of the Shared Print Collection through the addition of distributed holdings will begin. Baseline agreements coupled with analytics will let members begin their selection. 

At this stage, the Collection will begin to reflect important norms of collective investment:

  • All research libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance participate and designate portions of local collections

  • All research libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance contribute to governance and share expertise

  • All research libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance align some local resources with the shared collection

  • Members work together to reduce gaps at the shared collection level

  • Every member works internally to maximize the value of the collective for all Big Ten users - changing workflows and resource allocations as needed

Ongoing development and management of the Shared Print Collection will need to work to reinforce these norms.

 

Shared Print Repositories for Commonly Held Journals: Indiana University and the University of Illinois

The Shared Print Collection began with sustainable approaches that incorporate the two SPRs and expands to distributed collections that include monographs and serials. These repositories offer increased persistence and access of items that are uniquely as well as widely held.