Benefits of SHARES Participation

Comprehensive, expedited access to partners' collections.

As a SHARES participant, you receive privileged access to SHARES partners' comprehensive collections, and your interlibrary loan requests receive expedited handling.

"I feel that SHARES partners are more responsive. Requests are dealt with in a more timely manner. Because SHARES partners promise no blanket refusals I believe we have better access to materials that our patrons need."
—University of Washington School of Law

"We make every effort to loan formats (reserve, reference microfiche, A/V materials, gov. docs, etc.) to SHARES members that we don't routinely loan to non-consortium members. To the extent possible we "bend the rules" to accommodate a SHARES request. SHARES requests are processed separately from non-consortium loans in order to insure they are handled ASAP and at the highest possible standard of service."
—SMU Law

"If a SHARES library requests something and there is not a compelling reason not to send it out, we will send it. Items in our collection only circulate to Museum staff and are not allowed to leave the building, so the fact that we send stuff out on loan at all is possible only because we trust that the institutions we lend to will care for the items as we care for theirs."
—Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Curatorial research at CMA would be bereft if we were unable to borrow material from SHARES libraries. The personal attention given to interlibrary loan requests is invaluable. The reference staff at CMA values the professional partnerships we have established with our colleagues. The high quality service, often provided at a moment's notice, is unparalleled."
—Cleveland Museum of Art

" We have been able to borrow materials for our faculty that are just not available any other way. To me the most amazing thing is how most of this borrowing/lending goes on in a truly behind the scenes way. Over 25 years of working with SHARES I can count the times on one hand when we have needed to pick up the phone to explain a request or beg a loan from a SHARES library. That it all happens invisibly is a true credit to the program."
—Boston University School of Law

Participation in SHARES has provided researchers at University of Texas at Austin with access to more art materials and unique items from member collections. We are especially pleased to be able to borrow from partner collections abroad without having to submit ALA requests or use IFLA vouchers; using OCLC and IFM makes borrowing so much easier!
—University of Texas at Austin