History
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative started in the U.S. in 2005 with a white paper written by a group of librarians, product vendors and library technology specialists. While working on revising resource sharing technical standards, they began to feel as though they were trying to improve a protocol that was becoming increasingly obsolete. It was rather like refining the typewriter protocol when the world had already moved on to the computer. And more importantly, resource sharing practices and policies continued to be library-centric while the rest of the world had already moved on to being consumer-centric.
Thus, the group felt it was time to wipe the slate completely clean and start over with some new concepts. A charter was written and a movement born. The Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative was established as an ad hoc group that advocated for a complete rethink of the way libraries conduct resource sharing in the context of the global internet revolution and subsequent developments. In 2007, the group’s original manifesto was affirmed by several library organizations worldwide. Through various projects, publications, and presentations, the group invited participants to join them in advocating for a resource sharing revolution.
The group continued its work steadily through the help committed individuals who voluntarily comprised the Steering Committee for many years. In 2020, as with the entire world, the group was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many libraries had to quickly adjust services and staffing. Many of the volunteers on the Steering Committee lost the ability to commit time to the group during the pandemic and its aftermath, so the group went on hiatus. In years following, there was slow momentum to reorganize the group. In 2025, however, a small group of individuals were able to organize to revive the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative and update the manifesto.
Present & Future
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative (RRSI) has returned after an extended hiatus following the COVID-19 pandemic. Through University of Kansas Resource Sharing Librarian Lars Leon’s efforts before his retirement in the Spring 2025, a small group of committed people in the resource sharing community convened in the Summer 2025. We are now discussing ways to reinvigorate the Initiative and engage with the resource sharing community. We are calling ourselves the Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative Reboot 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
Keep an eye on this website for more information about the group’s progress.