Overview
The Resource Sharing Information and Interest Form was sent out the LSP-ALL and CCL-Librarians listservs on April 14 and remains open. As of May 16, 2025, 49 responses were submitted representing 53 colleges. Of those responses, 28 stated they participate in some form of physical item resource sharing. Interest in resource sharing (32 colleges) with the CCCs and CSUs include colleges that do and do not currently participate in resource sharing. Another 17 colleges answered “Maybe” while 4 were not interested. The main concerns expressed were cost, low interest in the service and limited staffing. However, colleges are interested in learning more about the details of the process and cost, which would need to be minimal or have no impact on their budgets and staff workload.

Current Resource Sharing at CCC Libraries
Just over half of the colleges already participate in resource sharing (28 colleges) and of those, 89% (25) of them use OCLC for resource sharing. A few colleges use Alma Resource Sharing, while a couple use email. 23 colleges have annual subscriptions (which makes sense if they are using OCLC), and a few said they are not charged for borrowing items. Annual costs range from $300 to $6,000 with the average being $1,355. However, 15 colleges spend less than $1,000 annually.
21 of the 26 colleges borrow between 1-50 items a year. (Figure 1) All except one college lend a similar amount or more physical items than they borrow per year. 4 colleges loan possibly 3x the number of physical items they borrow. (Figure 2)
Interest in Resource Sharing
Most responses (45) indicated interest or possible interest in resource sharing physical items with the CCCs and CSUs. This includes colleges that currently participate in resource sharing (26) as well as those that do not (19). No one responded that their college wants to resource share with just the CCCs or just the CSUs. The 4 colleges that were not interested in resource sharing do not currently participate in resource sharing, citing staffing shortages, low demand and issues getting items back.
Northeast, Northwest, Southwest Bay, East Central, West Central and Desert regions are interested in learning more about resource sharing between the CCCs and CSUs. (Figure 3) The Deset region had the most interest in resource sharing in comparison to the total submitted responses (100%) and the largest disparity between colleges currently resource sharing and interest.
Concerns Regarding Resource Sharing
Overall responses were cautiously optimistic and support the idea of resource sharing and acknowledge the potential benefits. However, there are several significant barriers such as cost, low demand, staffing and operational logistics that would need to be determined before many colleges would sign onto a resource sharing program. (Figure 4)
Responders questioned whether the low demand for physical items obtained through resource sharing is worth the shipping costs and increased staff workload. Some responders noted that their college has faced recent budget cuts affecting their current resource sharing abilities and staffing levels. An additional concern is that Alma Resource Sharing does not include electronic article delivery, which seems to have a greater demand. One response stated that instructors may be interested in borrowing books from CSU libraries. Responders wanted to know how resource sharing would be integrated into Alma and the user experience.
Next Steps
The LSP Program Manager will contact institutions to learn more about their specific resource sharing practices and needs.