Purpose:

The Boston Library Consortium [BLC]  leads in creating transformative 21st century member libraries by leveraging a shared platform of information resources, expertise and trusted relationships. It sustains strategic, cost-effective partnerships to achieve collaboratively what cannot be achieved singularly.

Value:

Our collaborative resources and services provide a rich and sustainable environment supporting teaching, research, and the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge.

History:

Founded in 1970, the BLC today has 18 members, all research and academic libraries. The BLC includes large and small as well as public and private institutions.  And, while clustered around Boston, the BLC member libraries range geographically from Durham, New Hampshire in the North to Kingston, Rhode Island in the South and from the tip of Boston's Columbia Point in the East to Williamstown in Western Massachusetts.  The BLC recently modified its membership to support both Full Members, who are expected to participate fully in resource sharing and make their collections available through reciprocal borrowing to the other Full Member libraries and Affiliate Members.  Both Full and Affiliate Members are encouraged to participate in the full range of services and programs offered by the Communities of Interest.

The BLC is a collaborative partnership providing proactive, innovative, and cost-effective access to shared information resources, services, and expertise that allow its member libraries to best serve the teaching, research and scholarship of their parent institutions.