Academic and research libraries (including several research oriented public libraries) have collaborated for some time to preserve the print scholarly record, so as to ensure the efficient and effective care of physical library resources while making sure users have access to their materials. While versions of collective collections have existed as long as libraries have existed, modern shared print initiatives have their origins in the early 2000's when libraries began responding to the widespread digitization of materials and the corresponding shift in the place of physical collections. The Wikipedia page on Collective Collections provides more information on the history of shared print organizations and initiatives. Today, the Shared Print Partnership unites the long term work of shared print programs in one international organization, but its roots lie in the work of two organizations: the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance and the Partnership for Shared Book Collections.
Serials: The Start of Shared Print
Shared print efforts began primarily with serials and journals. Some of the reasons that serials were an early focus for shared print was that many serials had been digitized and made accessible through resources like JSTOR, primarily because the physical copies of full runs of serials take up a large amount of physical space. The opportunity to weed multi-volume serial collections from some libraries while ensuring long term shared print retention commitments at other libraries saved space and resources while creating a plan for long term physical and digital preservation. The Rosemont Shared Print Alliance, founded in 2017, connected serial and journal programs to one another and led the way in shared print practices.
Monographs in Shared Print
As shared print commitments for serial and journal collections gained popularity, librarians in the shared print space turned their attention to monograph collections, expanding the scope of shared print activities to include monograph collections, and addressing challenges unique to monographs. The Partnership for Shared Book Collections, founded in 2019, emerged as a leading organization connecting a network of monograph specific shared print programs and activities.
Previous Organizations
In the late 2010s, regional consortial shared print programs came together in format-defined federations to amplify and maximize local efforts. As outlined above, The Rosemont Shared Print Alliance connect programs focused on serials and journals, while the Partnership for Shared Book Collections focused on monographs. The two federations worked in parallel for several years, communicating and collaborating often. In March 2023, the respective Executive Committees approved a recommendation to merge the two federations into one to serve both formats.
Merger
A subsequently convened Task Force developed a merger plan and recommendations, which involved a Bridge-Year organization during FY 2024-25 so that the merger plans would be further implemented. An appointed Bridge-Year Executive Committee led the organization, synthesizing foundational documents, determining staffing needs, and setting up administrative and fiscal hosting. In FY 2025-26, the Shared Print Partnership entered its first year as an organization with a fully articulated mission, vision, strategic directions, and an Executive Committee elected by shared print program representatives from across the United States and Canada.
Previous Committees
- Bridge Year Committee
- Past Rosemont Shared Print Aliance Committees
- Past Partnership for Shared Book Collections Committees
- Planning Participants - Partnership for Shared Book Collections
- SPP Merger Implementation Task Force
- The Joint Rosemont-Partnership Task Force for Future Strategic Consolidation
Previous Program Coordinators
- Nika Worth
- Sara Amato