Delaware County District Library joined the Central Library Consortium (CLC) in 2018. This partnership resulted in 17 separate library systems serving 1.5 million residents across seven counties.
Delaware Library patrons also maintain an expanded collection through the partnership with SearchOhio and OhioLINK. SearchOhio provides access to resources from 42 other public libraries throughout the state. OhioLINK allows patrons to request from over 40 million items within Ohio’s college and university libraries.
The consortium delivers materials to Delaware Library locations five days a week. Patrons typically receive available items from other CLC libraries 2-3 days after placing their requests.
The CLC is a 29-year-old partnership among library systems that share materials, resources, servers, licenses, group purchases and even staff while remaining strong, independent library systems. Libraries in the consortium include: Alexandria, Bexley, Columbus, Fairfield County, Grandview Heights, London, Marysville, Pickaway County, Pickerington, Plain City, Southwest Public, Upper Arlington, Wagnalls Memorial and Worthington.
For more questions, please read on.
What is the CLC?
The Central Library Consortium (CLC) is a group of 17 public libraries based in Central Ohio that share library services and provide a pool of library materials to their cardholders. In total, through the CLC, there are over 5 million items and over 1 million unique titles available to patrons. Of those items, more than 2.1 million items are shared to fill requests between library systems each year.
Why did DCDL join the CLC?
In addition to our own body of nearly 3 million materials and access to other state sharing agencies like OhioLink and SearchOhio, the CLC provides an additional 5 million items available for patrons to check out. This means shorter hold periods, faster access, and a family of libraries within driving distance where your DCDL card is honored.
What libraries are in the CLC?
CLC member libraries include Alexandria Public Library, Bexley Public Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Fairfield County District Library, Grandview Heights Public Library, London Public Library, Marysville Public Library, Pickaway County District Public Library, Pickerington Public Library, Plain City Public Library, Southwest Public Libraries, Upper Arlington Public Library, Wagnalls Memorial Library, Worthington Libraries, Delaware County District Library, Granville Public Library and Pataskala Public Library.
How does it affect me?
You can request items from 16 other CLC member libraries and use your card at many of these locations. This means that you will be able to walk into most of these institutions and check out materials using a DCDL card or reserve materials at all of them online. Because of the increased access to more materials and libraries, your hold times will be shorter for new and popular materials. You can also check out an item from any library in the system, and return it to any other library. This also means that the items you check out will automatically be renewed for you if there are no other holds on them: no more worrying about renewing eligible items online or at the library if you need a little extra time. We’ve gained access to a large selection of music CDs. There will be more advanced searching and filtering options for patrons who would like them. Patrons will also have the option to save searches and have those searches automatically run for them weekly or monthly.
Does DCDL still have a no-fine policy?
Yes, the no-fine policy that DCDL instituted several years ago will continue. DCDL users still pay no fines on overdue materials. Fees for lost or damaged items will remain.