INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly 10-thousand students at 20 local schools now have access to The Indianapolis Public Library’s collection of two million items as part of the Library’s growing Shared System, an interlibrary collaboration that provides online circulation services and joint access to the catalogs and collections of member institutions. The milestone participation level is included in a progress report to be presented to the Library’s Board of Trustees.
Newest members include Gambold Preparatory Magnet High School, the first Indianapolis Public Schools institution to join the Shared System; Holy Cross Lutheran School (kindergarten through 8th grade); St. Richard’s Episcopal School (pre-kindergarten through 8th grade); and Providence Cristo Rey High School; a private, college-preparatory high school for students from families with limited financial means whose membership is made possible by contributions from Impact 100 members.
Begun in 1995, the Shared System allows students to use their library cards to request materials from the Indy Library’s online catalog and from their own school library collections, and provides a delivery system that transports items between Indy Library branches and the schools. The Library also performs processing and cataloging services for the cooperative. It is the only such system in the United States that uses this cooperative model between schools and public libraries.
For more information about the Shared System and a listing of member institutions, visit www.indypl.org/about/shared/.
