ReCAP, a leading consortium of library research collections, welcomes Yale as newest member

ReCAP, the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, welcomed Yale University as its newest member this month, joining Columbia University, Harvard University, the New York Public Library research division, and Princeton University.

Yale will be making available 2.7 million unique titles from its general collections to the consortium and will gain access to 8.8 million unique titles owned by other consortium partners.  

“This collaboration amplifies the reach and impact of all of our collections,” said Barbara Rockenbach, Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian. “We are thrilled to be part of it.”  

In the coming months, Yale Library will bring the full shared collection into the library’s Quicksearch discovery tool, a step made possible by the recently completed upgrade of the library’s technology platform. The anticipated timeline for materials from the other ReCAP institutions to be available to Yale users is mid-2026. These materials will be discoverable directly in Quicksearch exactly like all Yale materials.

“The ReCAP partnership embodies our  commitment to preserving and enhancing access to the scholarly record,” Rockenbach said. “Through this shared collection, we can leverage the deep investments each partner library has made in print holdings, both past and future, to ensure that all researchers have access to the print resources they need.” 

Membership also gives Yale access to ReCAP’s collaboratively managed repository on Princeton’s Forrestal Campus, which holds over 18 million items and currently provides scanning and two-day delivery of about 300,000 items a year to consortium members.

Access to the repository will support Yale Library to continue collecting print even when the libraries and the Yale Library Shelving Facility (LSF) in Hamden, Conn., reach capacity. Only items from general collections will be sent to ReCAP, allowing Yale to prioritize its local storage for archival and special collections.

“The earliest we are likely to use the shared repository is 2027, but the option is critical to planning for future acquisitions,” said Daniel Dollar, associate university librarian for Scholarly Resources.  

Yale Library’s general collections contain approximately 12 million physical items, of which the majority are print books and journals. Although about 80 percent of new acquisition spending—not including archival and special collections—is for e-books, online journals, data sets, and other electronic resources, the library continues to invest in print materials especially non-English-language, literature, and other disciplines where electronic publishing is less dominant. Over the past five years, the library has added an average of 150,000 new print publications each year. 

Another advantage of the consortium is the opportunity to coordinate collecting plans in some areas.  Plans exist or are being considered for Slavic and East European materials, Italian and German imprints, and Chinese-language print serials, among others.  

“Coordinated collecting plans will further expand our ability to collect broadly and deeply across disciplines,” Dollar said. 

Library leaders at ReCAP partner institutions described Yale’s membership as a significant milestone in the evolution of the consortium. 

“The addition of Yale to the consortium is such an exciting development,” said Ann Thornton, chair of the ReCAP Board of Governors and Vice Provost and University Librarian at Columbia University. “The last 25 years of collaboration have shown that this model of resource sharing and collection-building works, enabling us to be responsible stewards of resources while expanding access for our respective academic communities.” 

—Patricia M. Carey

Read the ReCAP announcement.

What is ReCAP? View a video.