News

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a network-scale Shared Print Monographs Program. This new initiative will leverage the power of resource sharing to help member libraries:

• Build and retain collections more intentionally, preserving bibliographic diversity while avoiding redundancy in the face of budget and space constraints.
• Capitalize on long-standing relationships with one another to develop and oversee practices that are in line with national standards, thus ensuring seamless integration of our program into the emerging national network of retention programs.

The program has been established in response to a formal recommendation made by the TRLN Task Group on Analyzing Print Monographs and Expanding Their Cooperative Retention, which carefully studied the landscape and progress made by other institutions and within other regions. Based on the task group’s recommendations, no more than two copies with the same OCLC number will be recorded as retention copies within the TRLN program. Materials under this program will be retained until January 1, 2044 (i.e., 25 full years after the execution of the MOU).

The MOU was signed by Deborah Jakubs, Ph.D., Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian & Vice Provost for Library Affairs at Duke University; Greg Raschke, Interim Vice Provost and Director of Libraries at North Carolina State University; Theodosia Shields, Ph.D., Director of Library Services at North Carolina Central University, and Elaine Westbrooks, Vice Provost of University Libraries and University Librarian at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

The TRLN Advisory Council will charge a Collaborative Print Monographs Working Group to oversee the terms of the MOU. The group will establish standards for, and provide guidance and support to, all TRLN monograph retention activities.