[OPLINLIST] State Library of Ohio to Assume Administration of SearchOhio Consortium

[Mcdevitt-Stredney, Marsha]

[SearchOhio logo]<https://searchohio.org/searchohio/>The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce that it will assume administration of SearchOhio<https://searchohio.org/searchohio/>, an interlibrary loan partnership. The State Library and the Westerville Public Library are collaborating closely on the transition, with full administrative responsibilities expected to shift to the State Library by January 2027. SearchOhio is unique among Ohio’s library consortia in its facilitation of statewide sharing among both public libraries and academic libraries participating in OhioLINK. A transition to the State Library positions SearchOhio for continued growth and long‑term sustainability.

SearchOhio is a statewide consortium of 49 public libraries that share collections to maximize resources and broaden access for patrons. The consortium provides access to more than 18 million items, which is nearly half of all physical materials held by Ohio’s public libraries and supports approximately 750,000 loan transactions each year.

“The State Library’s transition into the administrative lead for SearchOhio, an important resource sharing initiative, marks an important moment for libraries across the state,” responded State Library Board President Drew Wichterman. “By taking on this role, the State Library is helping ensure long term stability, strong coordination, and a unified vision for how we share materials and services.”

The State Library brings extensive experience managing statewide library programs. Its leadership history includes serving as a founding member of OhioLINK, as well as creating and administering the Serving Every Ohioan (SEO) Consortium, the Ohio Digital Library, and the Statewide Delivery System. In addition, State Librarian Mandy Knapp previously served as Branch Manager at the Uptown Branch of the Westerville Public Library, where she supervised the SearchOhio Coordinator.

“We are extremely thankful for the vision of former Executive Director Don Barlow to seek partnerships with OhioLINK in 2005 and then with the county libraries of Cuyahoga, Toledo-Lucas, Youngstown-Mahoning, and Warren-Trumbull in 2006 to expand our patrons’ access to Ohio’s robust collections,” shared Erin Francoeur, Executive Director of the Westerville Public Library. “These partnerships established a cost-efficient and convenient way for our patrons to borrow items that has continued for the past 20 years.”

For library patrons, the value of SearchOhio is personal and profound. One patron shared, “I’ve been able to borrow materials from multiple Ohio libraries in languages that are difficult to obtain or prohibitively expensive. I certainly wouldn’t have become so familiar with certain authors if it hadn’t been for the library, and I’m profoundly grateful.” Another noted, “Fantastic service! All the way from Toledo in only four or five days!”

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Marsha McDevitt-Stredney
Director, Marketing & Communications
State Library of Ohio
274 E. 1st Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201
Tel: 614.644.6875
marshams at library.ohio.gov<mailto:marshams at library.ohio.gov>
library.ohio.gov<https://library.ohio.gov/>

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