Membership

Capital District Library Council provides support, consultation, services and opportunities for engagement to libraries and cultural heritage organizations within the greater Capital District region of New York.

Membership is open to libraries and library systems of all types: academic, public, school, corporate, hospital, government agencies, historical societies, museums, and archives. Bringing together regional collections and local connections, members achieve together what could not be achieved separately.

Members are required to:

• Have a collection of resources used to support their library patrons
• Maintain and provide access to records describing the collection
• Provide physical or electronic access to their collection (may include access by appointment)
• Manage an annual budget appropriate to collection maintenance and development
• Have a person designated by the institution to manage the collection

Members have the responsibility to:

• Contribute resources that enhance the collaborative as a whole
• Participate in interlibrary loan/resource sharing
• Maintain updated staff contacts for specific services
• Provide access to the library catalog
• Keep the collection's records current
• Participate in CDLC governance and voting as specified in the Council bylaws
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Degree-granting institutions must be chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. Individual public and school libraries receive CDLC member benefits through their respective public or school library system. Public Library System and School Library System membership is regulated by New York State Education Law and Commissioner's Regulations.

CDLC members benefit from being part of a collaborative that connects them to local resources and raises awareness of their collections.

Members have access to a variety of services that support our mission of partnering with members to strengthen library service through education, shared collections and local connections:

EDUCATION

• Continuing education opportunities that include live and virtual workshops and conferences
• Opportunities for building connections and networking with colleagues via interest groups and committees

SHARED COLLECTIONS

• Online resources that increase the visibility of physical and digital collections
• Library collections of CDLC members
• Hosted platforms for digital collections
• Online tools, including an ILL eForm and a regional interlibrary loan directory
• Interlibrary loan among CDLC members
• Subsidies for health-related interlibrary loan materials
• Cataloging services*
• Electronic resources at consortial rates for hospital libraries
• A statewide library delivery service*

LOCAL CONNECTIONS

• A team of experienced and responsive librarians who provide support, training, and consultation for cataloging, digitization, health/medical library management, research, and resource sharing
• Tours of member libraries and invitations to member social events
• The broader library community

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS INCLUDE

• Grant opportunities
• Governance, with eligibility to serve on the CDLC Board of Trustees
• Marketing tools for promoting your library’s job opening, programs and events
• A 24X7 virtual reference service

*fee based

Annual dues are based on a library’s total operating budget.

The membership year begins July 1; however, an institution may join at any time throughout the year and will be pro-rated. 

Membership applications are reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees.

If your library is interested in discussing membership, please get in touch with Kathleen Gundrum at kgundrum@cdlc.org.