Empire Shared Collection

Abstract

A group of academic and public libraries throughout New York state has banded together to form the Empire Shared Collection – a cooperatively managed collection of 31,453 print journals (representing over 600,000 individual volumes). A Steering Committee, consisting of one representative from each member library, is collectively responsible for creating and maintaining policies regarding the operations and future directions of the program. The collection is housed in the high-density storage Annex operated by staff at the University at Buffalo and is funded through annual membership fees.  Member libraries contribute to the long-term preservation of library materials while also extending their collections. Membership in the program allows libraries to optimize their on-campus footprint by re-purposing library stacks space for other uses in accordance with local needs.