Happy Birthday, OhioLINK!

November 1st marked the 20th birthday of OhioLINK, a consortium of 88 Ohio college and university libraries, plus the State Library of Ohio, that work together to provide Ohio students, faculty, and researchers with the information they need for teaching and research.

The University of Cincinnati is one of six original OhioLINK members along with Miami University, Bowling Green State University, Central State University, Wright State University, and Case Western Reserve University. Throughout its 20 years, UC Libraries have been active partners in the various OhioLINK endeavors and we look forward to many more collaborations.

Yesterday, the Ohio Board of Regents issued the following press release marking OhioLINK’s 20 years of service:

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OhioLINK Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Shared Services
State’s Library and Information Network Benefits Students, Teachers, Researchers    

COLUMBUS, OH, Nov. 1, 2012 – In today’s economy, the concept of shared services is more important than ever, but it’s been the backbone of OhioLINK for 20 years.

OhioLINK, the Ohio Library and Information Network, today celebrates 20 years of pooling resources to provide more than 600,000 college and university students, faculty and staff with access to millions of books and other library materials. OhioLINK is a consortium of 88 Ohio college and university libraries, plus the State Library of Ohio, that work together to provide information for teaching and research. OhioLINK’s membership includes 16 public/research universities, 23 community/technical colleges, 49 private colleges and the State Library of Ohio.

OhioLINK, a venture of university libraries and the Ohio Board of Regents, was created to provide a competitive advantage for Ohio’s higher education community by cooperatively and cost-effectively acquiring, providing access to and preserving an expanding array of print and digital resources, and by centrally hosting digital content. Together, OhioLINK and its member libraries provide access to 46.5 million books and other library materials, more than 100 electronic research databases, more than 81,000 e-books, thousands of images and videos, and millions of electronic journal articles.

“I can think of no better example of shared services than what OhioLINK has been doing for the past 20 years,” said Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro. “Shared services are vital to keep Ohio thriving, and OhioLINK clearly shows how the sharing of Ohio’s vast scholarly resources can give our students, teachers and researchers the tools to excel.” 

OhioLINK grew out of a 1987 recommendation by the Board of Regents’ library committee that the State of Ohio “implement, as expeditiously as possible, a statewide electronic catalog system.” In 1992, six universities installed OhioLINK systems and began the ongoing process of building the central catalog. In 1996, OhioLINK began offering services through the World Wide Web.

For more information or to use OhioLINK, log on to http://www.ohiolink.edu/.

 

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