Maine: Maximizing Space at Our Libraries Through innovation, Shared Collections
Matthew Revit, program manager of the Maine Shared Collections Strategy has written an op-ed explaining the project to residents of the state in the Bangor Daily News.
At the bottom of this post we’ve included a link to a Library Journal introduction to the project that was published in March.
From the Op-Ed:
In 2010, nine Maine library partners — the Bangor and Portland public libraries, the Maine State Library, the University of Maine, the University of Southern Maine, Maine InfoNet and Bates, Colby and Bowdoin colleges — submitted a grant application to the national Institute of Museum and Library Services to create the Maine Shared Collections Strategy.
The institute approved the grant and released $821,065 to fund the Maine Shared Collections Strategy. The partners also contribute matching cost-sharing funds. The grant is administered through the University of Maine and is overseen by a project team that represents the respective library constituencies.
Revit goes on to explain the goals of the Maine Shared Collections Strategy and lists five points that make it different than other shared collection programs.
They include:
…[an] emphasis on retention and preservation of materials, particularly items uniquely held and especially those concerning Maine. Most similar projects focus on removal and weeding. A result of Maine Shared Collections Strategy decisions will be that other libraries can weed their collections safe in the knowledge that the material will be preserved within Maine and remain accessible to their patrons.
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…the Maine Shared Collections Strategy has a primary focus on print monographs, since most projects thus far have concentrated on journals.
Read the Complete Op-Ed (via Bangor Daily News)
Direct to Maine Shared Collections Strategy Website
See Also: Major Maine Libraries, Public and Academic, Collaborate on Print Archiving Project (via Library Journal; March 15, 2013)
Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Preservation, Public Libraries

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.