CCU Goes Live in Prospector, Unified Online Catalog for Interlibrary Loaning
Colorado Christian University's Clifton Fowler Library went live today on Prospector, Colorado's largest unified, online catalog for interlibrary loaning and resource sharing. The integration of CCU -- already a member in the Marmot Library Network -- is part of a larger plan to bring 15 Marmot libraries into Prospector by the end of 2011. This will nearly double Prospector to 40 libraries that span Colorado's Western Slope and also the Front Range from Southern Colorado up into Wyoming.
CCU's addition is particularly attractive because the University brings an extensive collection of religion, theology, spirituality, Christianity, biblical-studies, and faith resources -- 40 percent of which are unique among Marmot libraries and will add to the diversity of the Prospector catalog.
"Expanding and sharing resources, and making them easier for library patrons to access, is what this is all about," said Gayle Gunderson, CCU Library Director. "We're very excited to link into Prospector and it's something we've wanted to do for a long time."
Prospector is comprised of academic, public, and special libraries that pool approximately 30 million items, including books, journals, DVDs, CDs, and other materials. The network combines the catalogs of each member library, allowing their patrons to request resources online from any of the members and have them delivered to their home library in as little as three to five days.
With the integration of CCU and other Marmot libraries, interlibrary loaning via Prospector is expected to increase significantly, especially by patrons in the more rural and remote areas of the Western Slope.
Prospector's growth was funded by a $226,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services federal grant, the largest of its type awarded in Colorado last year. Prospector is based on software by Innovative Interfaces and hosted by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries.