ABSTRACT
Although the history of cooperation among research libraries is characterized by numerous success stories, there are few, if any, collaborative ventures as successful as those of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) libraries. The success of CIC library cooperation is remarkable from several perspectives. First, two private and 11 state-supported universities comprise the member libraries representing the University of Chicago, University of Illinois (2 campuses), Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin. Among the public universities, seven have land-grant missions. They are located in seven states, and the distance separating the members extends up to 1,200 miles. But, despite the diversity of the members and the distances, the commitment to a powerful vision of resource sharing and cooperation and the strong support of the chief academic officers who govern the consortium have enabled the CIC to succeed in ways that are truly remarkable.
