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PBUQ boosts lending 140% within its consortia with unified, bilingual resource sharing platform

By implementing OCLC's Tipasa and WorldShare Management Services (WMS) , the Partenariat des bibliothèques universitaires du Québec (PBUQ) has transformed how its 18 academic libraries share resources with standardized loan policies, a seamless bilingual interface, and faster turnaround times.

Key outcomes

  • 140% increase in network loan resource sharing among the PBUQ institutions
  • 52% increase in ILL lending, 31% increase in ILL borrowing outside the PBUQ institutions
  • 20M+ physical items accessible via the OCLC Discovery tool
  • Delivery within five days via Canada Post with automatic member renewals
  • Standardized loan policies for up to 100 items for 30-day usage
  • Bilingual interface serving French- and English-speaking institutions
Photo: University of Montreal libraries
Photo courtesy of the University of Montreal

Unified infrastructure, seamless access

By adopting OCLC’s WMS and Tipasa, PBUQ transformed its operations by replacing multiple legacy systems and manual workflows with a unified services platform. This standardization of cataloging, circulation, network loan, and interlibrary loan services allows users to access collections across the consortium with a single library card. Now, 250,000 students, faculty, and researchers have streamlined access to nearly 20 million items across Québec.

Photo: François Charbonnier

“Students and faculty from any PBUQ library can now request and receive materials from any other institution regardless of language or location.”

François Charbonnier
Product Manager, PBUQ

A better experience for students, faculty, and researchers

From a single discovery interface, users can:

  • Search the collections of all 18 libraries
  • Submit ILL and network loan requests directly in WorldCat Discovery
  • Receive notifications in French or English

Generous loan terms, automatic renewals, and faster delivery have proven valuable to support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the academic community in Québec.

Streamlined staff workflows with WMS group circulation and Tipasa

Automated processes and shared infrastructure improve efficiency and task distribution across PBUQ libraries teams. Resource sharing relies on strong collaboration between circulation teams and interlibrary loan (ILL) staff. Circulation teams manage retrieval and shipping of physical materials through WMS Group Circulation, while copy requests for articles and chapters are handled in Tipasa. Tipasa also supports ILL for all external partners, ensuring a unified workflow. This approach enhances staff coordination and allows the ILL team to focus on complex requests and exceptions, leveraging their expertise where it matters most.

“The system’s ease of use, especially the ILL request button in WorldCat Discovery, makes requesting items a seamless user experience.”

Maryvon Côté
Acting Director of Collections, Interlibrary Loan, and Document Delivery at McGill University

Photo: Maryvon Côté

A model for library consortia

Through its shared services platform of Tipasa and WMS, PBUQ has successfully revitalized resource sharing, creating an infrastructure that supports the evolving needs of its libraries, staff, and users.

January 15 2026