Click on each name for more information about the consortium's services.
Canyon Owyhee Library Group (COLG)
Cooperative Information Network (CIN)
Inland Northwest Library Automation Network (INLAN)
Inland Northwest Council of Libraries (INCOL)
Library Consortium of Eastern Idaho (LCEI)
Valley Library Network (VALNet)
Valley Mountain Library Consortium (VMLC)
Washington Idaho Network (WIN)
West End Library Consortium (WELCOM)
The Canyon Owyhee Library Group (COLG) is dedicated to sharing resources and ideas, collaboration, and staff development. COLG facilitates interlibrary loans and resource sharing between member libraries. A video catalog was started in 1990 with 150 videos and has since grown to over 4,400 videos and DVD's. Several COLG member libraries participate in resource sharing through LiLI Unlimited. COLG is financed through dues from its members and occasional library grants.
| Website | http://colg.lili.org | |
| Chair | Sherry Thomas (Homedale High School) | |
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Public Libraries
Public School Libraries
Private Schools
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CIN provides ILS and related services to members as an independent consortium and as a member of the Washington Idaho Network of Libraries.
| ILS | Endeavor/Voyager | |
| Website | http://cin.wash-id.net/ | |
| Fiscal Agent | John Hartung (Kootenai Shoshone Area Libraries) | |
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INCOL’s mission is to engage in cooperative activities, which enable member institutions to improve library services to their constituencies. The major activities of the council include continuing education and the Spokane area local courier.
| Website | http://ewu71412.ewu.edu/incol/ | |
| Chair | Ann Johnston (North Idaho College) | |
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INLAN is a consortium of libraries created to facilitate group access to automated information services. In 2001, INLAN joined with the CIN and VALNet consortia to form the Washington-Idaho Network (WIN).
| ILS | Endeavor/Voyager | |
| Website | http://www.gonzaga.edu/Academics/Libraries/ Foley+Library/Departments/INLAN+-+WIN/default.asp |
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The Library Consortium of Eastern Idaho (LCEI) is a consortium of multi-type libraries serving the public of Eastern Idaho. It encourages collaboration, resource sharing, staff development and technical innovations among its member libraries to ensure that the citizens of Eastern Idaho receive quality, up-to-date library services and have access to current, accurate information.
LCEI facilitates interlibrary loan and resource sharing for its member libraries. It provides quality continuing education and staff development programs, and enables member libraries to participate in projects using leading-edge technology. The consortium administers a shared Horizon automated system for our members, which includes web access to member library catalogs.
| ILS | Dynx/Horizon | |
| Website | http://lcei.lili.org | |
| Chair/Contact | Marilynn Kamoe (Rigby City Library) | |
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In the late 1970s, the Directors of the Boise, Caldwell, Nampa and Twin Falls libraries joined together to share the costs of an automated circulation system. In 1995, when growth necessitated a change, a contract was signed to purchase a new Dynix integrated online catalog system and the LYNX! Consortium came online in March 1996. During this migration, the method of communication by the libraries to the online catalog system was changed from direct phone lines to local area networks within each library attached to frame relay links. Access to the Internet was also added at this time.
In August of 1996, the Meridian Library District was the first new library to be accepted for membership and came online in February, 1997. Two more libraries, Eagle and Garden City, applied for and were accepted for membership in the fall of 1998. Ada Community Library and Hailey Public Library were both accepted for membership in early 1999, bringing the total number of libraries in the Consortium to the current nine.
Over the years the member libraries have grown and together kept pace with the vast changes in technology. LYNX! Consortium is currently in the process of migration to the SirsiDynix Horizon ILS product with a target release in late spring 2006. ILS costs continue to be equitably shared between the members.
LYNX! operates under an open access agreement; libraries agree to provide lending services to the patrons of each Library as if the patron requesting lending services in a Library were a resident of the jurisdiction in which the patron is seeking lending services and compensation agreements are in place where one Library regularly provides more than 10% of its total lending to patrons of another’s jurisdiction. Materials are shared between member libraries. Members also have an option to participate in shared courier service which facilitates transfer of materials between libraries. The current LYNX! Consortium works together in ways that go beyond simply a shared ILS. For the past few years, LYNX! members have worked together to coordinate summer reading and other youth services programming and are regularly examining other resource sharing opportunities to benefit our communities.
In FY2005, LYNX! Consortium combined holdings totaled 1,143,538. Members circulated 4,198,867 items, and 766,902 items moved between the seven member libraries participating in courier service.
Libraries interested in more information about Consortium activities or in joining the LYNX! Consortium are invited to contact one of the representatives listed below.
| ILS | Dynix/Horizon | |
| Website | http://www.idaho-lynx.org/ | |
| Chair | Mary DeWalt (Ada Community Library) | |
| Secretary | Elaine Leppert (Caldwell Public Library) | |
| ILS Coordinator | Laurel White (Boise Public Library) | |
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VALNet, the Valley Automated Library Network, is a consortium of public, school, and academic libraries in Southeastern Washington and North Central Idaho working together to share resources and information services. VALNet currently serves 60,000 patrons with over 630,000 items. In fiscal year 2000, VALNet libraries exchanged over 500,000 items among themselves.
In addition to cooperation among different types of libraries, VALNet promotes cooperation among city and county governmental units and school districts in two states. VALNet libraries cooperate in many ways to provide the best possible services to their users and to make optimal use of financial resources:
The VALNet consortium was created in 1985 with 4 agencies and 5 library locations. Over the years, VALNet has grown to include 20 agencies with 49 library locations.
| ILS | Endeavor/Voyager | |
| Website | http://www.valnet.org | |
| Chair/Contact | Dawn Wittman (Lewiston City Library) | |
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The Valley Mountain Library Consortium exists to provide expanded resources and improved services through systematic interlibrary cooperation among member libraries.
| Website | http://vmlc.lili.org | |
| Chair/Contact | Elaine Mathiasen (Middleton Public Library) | |
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WIN is a cooperative multi-type library consortium serving academic, public, school, and special libraries in the states of Washington and Idaho. WIN facilitates access to information by acquiring automated systems that serve as gateways to information beyond library walls. Additionally the consortium plans and implements services that promote inter-library cooperation to insure that resources are readily shared across jurisdictional boundaries.
WIN membership is made up of a 3 library consortia and the Idaho State Law Library.
| ILS | Endeavor/Voyager | |
| Website | http://www.wash-id.net/ | |
| President | Eileen Bell-Garrison (Gonzaga University) | |
| Members | Cooperative Information Network
Idaho State Law Library
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The mission of WELCOM is to supply increasingly diverse materials to community members for education, research, and recreation by sharing and purchasing resources individually or in concert. The mission is also to encourage cooperation and communication between library professionals for the continued professional growth of community libraries.
| ILS | Sagebrush/Winnebago | |
| Chair/Contact | Jean Dudley, Castleford School District | |
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