Holy Family University Joins Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation

Holy Family University recently was welcomed into the Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) as one of the consortium’s now membership of 74 academic and research libraries.

Through the partnership, Holy Family University faculty, students and staff gain access to PALCI’s shared catalog containing more than 46 million items in library collections owned by partnership institutions.  The University also will have immediate access to substantial electronic content, including more than 300,000 eBooks from top publishers through the consortium’s agreements. Holy Family University library users will benefit from PALCI’s EZBorrow resource-sharing platform and can now leverage this expedited interlibrary loan service to efficiently discover, request, and borrow books, and other physical library materials, from more than 60 college and university member libraries in the region.

“We look forward to the enhanced learning and research opportunities this alliance will bring to our students, faculty, and staff,” Holy Family University Library Director Shannon Brown said.  “In the coming weeks, our library staff will begin working with PALCI and the consortium’s service providers to plan the technical aspects of the library’s EZBorrow implementation, as well as the training and onboarding of library staff, with a launch date to be determined and announced later this year.”

Additionally, Holy Family University will be a participant in PALCI’s Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative through Affordable Learning PA, a member-led community practice, developed through a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant that was secured and directed by PALCI. 

“Open educational resources will not only ease our students’ financial burdens but also pave the way for a more inclusive and innovative learning environment,” Brown said.  “This partnership both expands our access to a wealth of academic resources and strengthens the sense of community and collaboration among institutions.”
Originally founded as the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc., PALCI has expanded its membership to include members in New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia. PALCI members include small, private liberal arts colleges and very large public and private institutions working together to harness the power and scale of this large and diverse collaboration.

“PALCI’s value proposition is one that is truly bi-directional, and one of partnership,” PALCI Executive Director Jill Morris said. “By joining PALCI, Holy Family University gains access to the collections sharing opportunities that are often unattainable when going it alone. At the same time, PALCI is delighted to begin collaborating with Holy Family University and is strengthened by the unique strengths, expertise, and colleagues they bring to our mix.”

To explore how PALCI supports academic and research libraries in Pennsylvania and the surrounding geographic region, visit https://palci.org/about/members.

About PALCI
PALCI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization, which originated in 1996 as the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc., a grassroots federation of 35 academic libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Known today as the Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation, the PALCI membership has grown to include more than 70 academic and research libraries in Pennsylvania and contiguous states. PALCI’s mission is to enable cost-effective and sustainable access to information resources and services for academic libraries in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. PALCI is well known for its highly-regarded EZBorrow consortia ILL service. PALCI members partner to serve over 800,000 students, faculty, and staff, with a particular focus on collaborative collections programs, resource sharing services, and innovative technology projects and approaches to library services. For more information contact .