Are programs like Keep@Downsview a common practice among research libraries?
Yes. University libraries across North America are working together to ensure that low-demand print materials remain available for research and study. The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) currently lists many such projects on their Print Archives Preservation Registry (PAPR). A good example in Canada is the work of members of the Council of Prairie and Pacific Libraries on the Shared Print Archive Network (SPAN). Participants in SPAN include major research libraries such as the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Saskatchewan. Also, the Tri-Universities Group—the University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, and Wilfrid Laurier University—has a longstanding partnership that includes a shared storage facility for library collections.
Several of these collaborations for shared collections have recently come together and, in January 2020, formed the Partnership for Shared Book Collections. The vision for this partnership is "…to ensure the long-term preservation of, access to, and integrity of monographic print resources." Keep@Downsview joined this partnership in 2020.
