Member Benefits
At the heart of the LYRASIS mission is building stronger libraries through collaboration, creative solutions and leadership. With a librarian-based staff, and a member-based and at-large Board of Directors, we have a deep understanding of the challenging landscape the library profession is currently navigating.
As a valuable partner, LYRASIS provides the products and services, leadership and information our member libraries need to serve their communities most effectively. Click here to read more about the benefits of choosing LYRASIS.
Benefits of Membership:
1. LYRASIS promotes an informed, forward-thinking library community.
- Professional development courses covering a broad range of topics
- Consulting services to address library needs across a wide range of subject areas
- Ideas and Insights Series on hot and emerging topics
- Advisory Groups that give members a voice to determine the direction of LYRASIS
- Networking opportunities that bring library professionals together
- Training needs assessment and training plan development
- Leadership development programs and classes
- Access to industry expertise and advice
2. Helps libraries navigate a changing landscape, as well as develop and adopt innovative technologies and solutions.
- Open Source services (decision support, consulting, implementation, support, hosting)
- Technology assessment, strategy, planning and implementation
- Custom consulting services tailored to fit member-specific needs
- Mass Digitization Collaborative
- Ideas and Insights Series covering key initiatives in focused areas such as collections, cataloging, technology and resource sharing
- Web-scale readiness training and consulting services
3. Provides thought leadership, community connections and networking.
- Ideas and Insights Series, Web-scale Management Series and other regional events
- Dialogue exchange and networking through Member Advisory Groups
- Projects such as the cooperative monograph storage project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
- Opportunities for members to learn from each other and share best practices
4. LYRASIS is a trusted, cost-effective source for the creation, access, management and digital preservation of electronic content.
- Single source of discounted eResources
- Source of electronic collections unique to LYRASIS: NetLibrary 10th Shared Collection
- Support of consortial licensing programs to effectively manage cost and access of eResources
- Mass Digitization Collaborative: preserving unique member-held collections with innovative technology
- Training and consulting in collection care and digitization
5. Assist libraries with controlling costs while building enhanced internal operations.
- Training across a wide range of topics
- Workflow consulting
- Strategic planning and consulting that help define a library’s future
- Disaster preparedness training
- Emergency management tools, resources and consulting
- Collection care training and consulting
- Open Source and other technology solutions
- Cataloging service tools and consulting
6. Grant funding to support collaborative, technology, preservation and leadership initiatives, with current grants including:
- Institute of Museum and Library Services: Collaborative Monograph Storage Project
- National Endowment for the Humanities: Regional Preservation Services Program, and Digital Preservation for Digital Collaboratives
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Gulf Coast Library Project, Opportunity Online Hardware Grants for public libraries enabling them to keep pace with technology, and the soon to be announced Gates Benchmarking Grant
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Open Source program support, HBCU Library Leadership Program, and HBCU Photo Preservation Program
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Mass Digitization Collaborative
