Library Boy: Five Ontario Universities in Shared Last Print Copy Repository Project

Five university libraries in Ontario (at the University of Ottawa, the University of Western Ontario, Queen's, University of Toronto, and McMaster) are participating in the Keep@Downsview partnership, which is a shared last print copy repository project:

"The project, called Keep@Downsview, aims to consolidate and rationalize low-use print materials held by the partner libraries and ensure long-term preservation of these important scholarly materials in Ontario, while still providing access via document delivery and ILL. In doing so, each of the partner institutions demonstrates its commitment to the stewardship of print collections for future generations while repurposing valuable space on campus. This paper describes the background, rationale, challenges, and lessons learned for this unique Canadian project that leveraged funding from the province of Ontario, the University of Toronto‘s high density preservation facility at Downsview, and the commitment of all partners to preserve the scholarly record in Ontario (...)

"(...) the five libraries also quickly established the goals of the project and agreed to four key principles:

The project strives to save costs while maintaining access to a principal research collection by sharing in the responsibility of storing and maintaining one shared preservation print copy at the Downsview facility.

The project includes both journals and monographs.

All materials in Downsview are low-demand materials, as determined by the participating institutions.

All institutions share ownership of the materials they transfer. "

There has been some discussion (but less action) in relation to the idea of a "last print copy repository" in the case of legal materials, as can be seen in these 2 Slaw.ca articles from recent years: