Defining the Library Consortium 

Libraries today operate in complex environments, navigating evolving community expectations, and a growing set of unknowns. Whether large or small, urban or rural, all libraries share the common challenge of delivering high-quality services in a sustainable and impactful way. In this context, library consortia like the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) are an essential tool for cooperation, connection, and collaboration—one that not only strengthens individual libraries but also advances the greater library community’s shared goals. 

A library consortium is a formal collaboration in which libraries unite to share resources, streamline services, negotiate better deals, and support each other’s missions. By working collectively, libraries can achieve goals that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish alone.   

Library thought leader Lorcan Dempsey presents a power framework that argues that consortia are extremely beneficial to individual libraries and systems via their ability to scale capacity, learning, innovation, and influence. His 4-part blog series linked below touches on each element and helps define some of the less-discussed advantages of consortial affiliation. 

1. The powers of library consortia 1: How consortia scale capacity, learning, innovation and influence  
2. The powers of library consortia 2: Soft power and purposeful mobilization: scaling learning and innovation  
3. The powers of library consortia 3: Scaling influence and capacity 
4. The powers of library consortia 4: Scoping, sourcing and scaling 

With more than 630 member libraries of every type and size across Indiana and Michigan, MCLS provides a compelling example of Dempsey’s core framework elements.   

Scaling Capacity: Doing More Together 

Dempsey defines the first library consortium core power as scaling capacity, or increasing what individual libraries can accomplish by pooling resources and infrastructure. At MCLS, we do this through: 

• Group licensing agreements that offer access to databases, eBooks, eJournals, and library software from 70+ vendors at a lower cost than libraries would pay independently. 
• Consulting services that help libraries conduct strategic planning, facilitate staff day training, and lead community conversations—services that might otherwise be out of reach for smaller libraries. MCLS consultants bring experience, objectivity, and proven methodologies to help libraries make informed decisions and foster staff and stakeholder buy-in. 

This capacity scaling allows MCLS members to extend their reach and improve services at a reasonable cost, which is essential in an era of constrained budgets.  

Scaling Learning: Shared Knowledge and Professional Growth 

Consortia create knowledge-based communities. Dempsey describes our role as scaling learning, or enabling continuous professional development and the exchange of expertise across institutions. MCLS nurtures this through: 

• Training workshops  that support curated opportunities for staff development at all levels of skill and position within the library ecosystem. Continuous learning is vital to keeping library services relevant and effective. By investing in staff knowledge, libraries build stronger teams and improve service to their communities—without stretching limited budgets. 
• The Essential Workplace Skills Certificate, a 10-hour, self-paced learning opportunity which is free for any staff member of an MCLS member library. 
• Engagement opportunities like our Virtual Dialogue series, where staff from Indiana and Michigan libraries of different types and sizes can collaborate, share best practices, and co-create solutions. 

We aim to promote collective learning, to ensure libraries stay agile and informed in a fast-changing field.  

Scaling Innovation: Pilots, Projects, and Programs 

According to Dempsey, consortia are uniquely positioned to scale innovation because they can pilot new ideas, pool risk, and spread successful models more broadly. MCLS exemplifies this through programs like: 

• The MeLCat and MeL eResources components of the Michigan eLibrary, for which MCLS staff provide implementation, support, and training. The MeL project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library of Michigan. 
• TALK (Text and Learn for Kindergarten), a text messaging service that empowers caregivers to support school preparedness for children up to age 6 through activities, songs, and more. Originally created by Ypsilanti District Library staff with input from regional early childhood education partners, this easy-to-implement program is based on Every Child Ready to Read. Offered nationwide with a discount to MCLS members, TALK reflects how a consortium can cultivate innovation that serves community needs in new and scalable ways. 
• The RIDES (Regional Interlibrary DElivery Service) interlibrary courier system, which we manage to enable libraries to make materials available to citizens across Michigan. 
• The Michigan Digital Preservation Network (MDPN), a member-centered, collaborative organization dedicated to preserving Michigan’s digital cultural memory materials and leveraging our shared resources to make digital preservation accessible to as many libraries and institutions as possible. 

By connecting members with new tools, programs, and support, MCLS helps libraries experiment safely and adopt innovation faster. 

Scaling Influence: A Unified Voice for Libraries 

Finally, Dempsey emphasizes the consortium’s role in scaling influence—amplifying the voice of libraries in policy, vendor negotiations, and public discourse. MCLS supports this by: 

• Advocating member interests in vendor negotiations, ensuring equitable access to vital digital content. 
• Participating in national and regional initiatives along with other consortia, vendors, associations, and others, that align with library advocacy and demonstrating libraries’ positive impact. 
• Creating spaces for dialogue across library types (public, academic, school, and special libraries) to foster knowledge sharing about common goals and challenges. 

As a result, MCLS member libraries are not isolated, and are part of a larger, strategic network that commands attention and shapes the future of library service.  

The Big Picture: Sustained Value and Shared Mission 

For more than a decade, hundreds of libraries have trusted MCLS to help them respond to change, innovate, and serve their communities more effectively. Libraries rely on us for cost savings and quality services, but MCLS is more than a service provider—we are also a member owned and governed organization, shaped by the very voices we strive to empower. 

As Lorcan Dempsey observes, consortia deliver outcomes no single library can achieve alone. With our industry surrounded by rapid change and revolving unknowns, consortial collaboration is not simply helpful; it is essential. At MCLS, we want libraries to move beyond surviving change and actively engage in shaping it. To this end, MCLS staff leans into our vision: empowering libraries to achieve the extraordinary. 

Have a question or an idea? Let’s talk. We’re here to listen and help. Visit mcls.org to learn more about our services, explore membership benefits, and see our current strategic plan. You can reach me directly at garrisons@mcls.org or 517-489-4071.