Read the Original Manifesto, 2007-2025.
A Manifesto for Rethinking Resource Sharing
We believe that libraries have a responsibility to ensure users can easily access the information resources they need, at the time they need them, and in the format that best meets their needs. Libraries must strengthen and modernize their information delivery systems by working collaboratively across networks and with vendors. Delivery systems must be accessible, affordable, and efficient in order to provide equitable access to information. Library leaders must align resource sharing, collection policies, discovery tools, and delivery systems while significantly reducing service barriers and costs and embracing innovation. We believe that resource sharing is a core library service. A thriving and dynamic global resource sharing environment depends on cooperation at the local, regional, national, and international level.
Toward that end, we endorse the following principles which reflect both enduring values and new imperatives for libraries:
1. Adaptable
1. 1. Embrace change as constant, whether it be in terms of funding, staffing, technology, workflows, or patron needs.
2. Equitable
2. 1. Lend generously and only add restrictions when absolutely required.
2. 2. Charge fair and transparent costs when necessary, while aiming to minimize the burdens on users and libraries.
2. 3. Promote broad access to items by entering into regional, national, and international resource sharing agreements and by including all cultural institutions in resource sharing, for example: libraries, archives and museums.
3. User-Centered
3. 1. Prioritize user choice in formats and delivery options.
3. 2. Emphasize usability through intuitive, easy to use discovery and request systems.
3. 3. Optimize accessibility in both web interfaces and digital items and directly integrate remediation within workflows.
3. 4. Pursue requested items with vigilance, exhausting all avenues possible to fill requests.
4. Efficient
4. 1. Save the time of the user by prioritizing rapid turnaround and digital fulfillment.
4. 2. Save the time of the staff by implementing new workflows, technology and automation which will allow for them to focus on specialized work.
4. 3. Explore new hardware, software and workflows regularly to optimize the service.
4. 4. Ensure systems are robust in order to function during crises, such as pandemics, natural disasters, or economic downturns.
5. Collaborative
5. 1. Leverage the power of working collaboratively with other practitioners to influence or change the future of the field.
5. 2. Work with stakeholders at your library to spread awareness of resource sharing best practices and change policies and workflows to embrace these principles.
5. 3. Share knowledge freely with other resource sharing practitioners through listservs, publications, and/or presentations.
5. 4. Advocate for increased resource sharing of electronically licensed materials.
5. 5. Prioritize collaborative purchasing, shared infrastructure, and cost-sharing agreements to ensure that resource sharing remains sustainable.
5. 6. Work with vendors to create and improve new solutions to problems.
A Call to Action
Libraries remain centers for knowledge, equity, and community. To maintain this role, every institution must:
- Re-evaluate its service model in light of these updated principles.
- Revise policies and workflows to align with global resource sharing needs.
- Expose collections and expertise to open, inclusive, and accessible discovery systems.
- Embrace collaborative, user-driven models that prioritize access over ownership.
- Encourage innovation at every level in the library organization as a source of empowerment for staff and continuous improvement of library services
By committing to these values, libraries can continue to thrive as trusted partners in the global exchange of knowledge, even amid reduced staffing, tighter budgets, and heightened demands for accessibility and equity.
Respectfully submitted by members of the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative Rebooting Team:
Tom Bruno, Assistant Director of Content Access, Princeton University
Lapis Cohen, Library Specialist, University of Pennsylvania
Clara Fehrenbach, Document Delivery Services Librarian, University of Chicago
Brynne Norton, Head of Resource Sharing and Reserves, University of Maryland
Jen Salvo, Head of Resource Sharing, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Mark Sullivan, Executive Director of IDS Network, SUNY Geneseo