Troy, N.Y. — The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $250,000 grant to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and four other independent colleges and universities in New York state to support development of a rapid and direct system of resource-sharing for academic libraries. The consortium of libraries, known as ConnectNY, shares library holdings, making the collections of all participating members readily available to students, faculty, and staff.

In addition to Rensselaer, founding members of the consortium include Colgate University, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. Lawrence University, and Vassar College.

"Researchers need access to so much information," said Rensselaer Research Libraries Director Loretta Ebert. "This type of collaboration vastly improves access to essential research materials, including historical materials that can no longer be purchased, and saves time and money. By creating a single merged catalog, we are providing users with direct borrowing access to all five libraries at once. That includes two million unique titles — four times the number of titles Rensselaer has on its shelves. Moreover, 75 percent of our combined collections are uniquely owned by one institution, so there is little overlap."

The resource-sharing system, which is powered by INN-Reach software from Innovative Interfaces, links participating universities in a statewide direct borrowing and delivery system that allows seamless operation and circulation of their collections. To borrow materials from ConnectNY, library users simply request them online. The items are delivered to their own library for pickup, usually within 48 hours. This quick turnaround is possible because ConnectNY uses LAND, a closed delivery system offered by the Nylink library network.

"This award builds on the success of the $40,000 planning project grant ConnectNY received last year from the Mellon Foundation, enabling it to handle over 10,000 book requests," said Rensselaer Chief Information Officer John Kolb. "With this grant, we can take the next step, to expand the system to all interested colleges, with the goal of creating a single statewide system."

Rensselaer's participation in the ConnectNY consortium is part of its ongoing program to expand its information infrastructure and provide multimedia access to library, research, and scholarly materials for use on and off the campus.

Contact: Robert Pini
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: pinir@rpi.edu