May 28, 2025
“Strength in Sharing: The Keep@Downsview Shared Print Program Partnership” webinar
Join Keep@Downsview for a webinar on shared print programs and services Wednesday, May 28, 1-2pm. Colleagues from member libraries will present on what shared print is, why it matters, and how your library benefits and can further leverage the Keep@Downsview partnership. We’ll explore the core principles of shared print and highlight how programs across North America are supporting individual and collaborative collection stewardship goals, retention and preservation efforts, and user access.
Zoom coordinates will be shared with staff at Keep@Downsview partner libraries approximately one week prior to the webinar. If you have any questions, please contact your library’s Keep@Downsview Coordinating Committee representative.
January 2025
Member of the Coordinating Committee publishes report on communication practices in shared print programs
Hayden, Liz. (2025). Communication in Shared Print at Academic Libraries: Report of Findings
This report focuses on communication practices in and across shared print programs and their member libraries. It explores how member libraries communicate shared print initiatives to stakeholders and whether a communication and change management plan could enhance the successful integration and normalization of shared print efforts within a library's collection strategy and practice. The findings of this project underscore that effective communication is essential for the success and sustainability of shared print initiatives in academic libraries. The evolution of shared print must continue to be communicated with a focus on its sustainability, the collective value it offers, and the long-term vision for library collections. By addressing these communication challenges, libraries can strengthen their shared print efforts, foster collaboration, and better position themselves to navigate future challenges in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing information landscape.
February 5, 2024
One for the books: UTL Downsview powers up with massive solar installation
The recent installation of 1,018 solar panels at the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) Downsview storage facility is the University’s second largest solar project ever. With more than 40,000 square feet of roof space, it doesn’t get more ideal than UTL Downsview for a solar panel installation.
September 2022
Keep@Downsview member libraries join North/Nord
October 22, 2021
Memorial University joins Keep@Downsview as an Associate Member
October 6, 2021
Keep@Downsview supports student experiential learning
Queen’s University Computing student Dylan Weltman and Memorial University MLIS co-op student Alexandra Marcaccio support Keep@Downsview projects and present at the Partnership for Shared Book Collections’ webinar on Analyzing Collections Using Gold Rush.
March 10, 2021
The Keep@Downsview Coordinating Committee publishes an article in Collaborative Librarianship
McMullen, Heather; Hayden, Liz; Rykse, Harriet; Tillman, Caitlin; White, Louise; and Wyckoff, Wade. (2021). Keep@Downsview: an evolving shared print project. Collaborative Librarianship. Vol. 12: Iss. 3, Article 3.
This article describes the evolution of the partnership from what began as simply an operationally focused collaboration for shared preservation space, in order to manage collections space in on-campus libraries, to a partnership that is involved in the larger shared print discussions in North America and which has refocused its strategic directions enabling a more intentional evolution of the partnership.
Four strategic directions were identified prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Since the onset of Covid-19 it has become apparent that several influencing factors related to the pandemic could present opportunities for reconsidering the identified strategic directions and how we may wish to implement them. To ensure we fully capitalize on the opportunities presented, members from all partner schools will engage in a visioning exercise that will inform development of our next iteration of the strategic directions.
January 2020
Keep@Downsview joins the Partnership for Shared Book Collections as a founding member
March 12, 2019
Memorial University participates in a pilot program with Keep@Downsview
March 1, 2017
The Keep@Downsview Coordinating Committee publishes article in Serials Review
Horava, Tony & Rykse, Harriet & Smithers, Anne & Tillman, Caitlin & Wyckoff, Wade. (2017). Making Shared Print Management Happen: A Project of Five Canadian Academic Libraries. Serials Review. 43. 2-8. 10.1080/00987913.2016.1274209.
Five academic libraries in Ontario (Canada) are collaborating in a shared last print copy repository project. The project, called Keep@Downsview, aims to consolidate and rationalize low-use print materials held by the partner libraries and ensure long-term preservation of these important scholarly materials in Ontario while still providing access via document delivery and ILL. In doing so, each of the partner institutions demonstrates its commitment to the stewardship of print collections for future generations while repurposing valuable space on campus. This article describes the background, rationale, challenges, and lessons learned for this unique Canadian project--which leveraged funding from the province of Ontario and the University of Toronto's high-density preservation facility at Downsview--and the commitment of all partners to preserve the scholarly record in Ontario.