News Release University of Idaho Joins the Orbis Cascade Alliance November 30, 2011—The Orbis Cascade Alliance is pleased to welcome the University of Idaho as the 37th member of the consortium and the first member in Idaho. A long-time partner in several of the Alliance’s programs, the University of Idaho now becomes a governing member of the consortium and in mid-2012 UI’s Voyager system will be included in the Alliance’s Summit resource sharing system built on WorldCat Navigator. “The University of Idaho is excited about the Alliance’s vision of shared services and a unified northwest academic library collection,” stated Lynn Baird, UI Dean of Library Services. “We have a long tradition of forging important partnerships and joining the Orbis Cascade Alliance will bring a wealth of new resources to UI students and faculty while also making the UI collection available to academic libraries across the Northwest.” With the inclusion of the University of Idaho, Alliance member libraries will offer a collection of some 31 million volumes and a vast array of databases, ebooks, and ejournals serving the teaching and research needs of faculty and the equivalent of more than 258,000 full time students in a three-state region. “We are thrilled to welcome the fine staff, collections, and services of the University of Idaho to the Orbis Cascade Alliance,” said Betsy Wilson, Chair of the Alliance Board of Directors and University of Washington Dean of Libraries. “The UI brings a depth of experience, enthusiasm, and vision that will clearly help Alliance member libraries achieve our Strategic Agenda, bolster our combined impact, and enhance our ability to offer world-class library services and collections to the Northwest U.S.” About the University of Idaho The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals, and competes in the Western Athletic Conference. Learn more: www.uidaho.edu. About the Orbis Cascade Alliance The Orbis Cascade Alliance is a consortium of 37 academic libraries in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho serving faculty and the equivalent of more than 258,000 full time students. Alliance member libraries work together to provide outstanding services to students and faculty, share information resources and expertise, develop library staff, and help members allocate financial and human resources to serve the unique needs of each member. To this end, the Alliance considers the combined collections of member institutions as one collection. The Alliance supports a number of services that support this vision, including Summit, a system that allows students, faculty and staff to easily search and request library materials owned by member libraries; courier service offering delivery of library materials in Oregon, Washington and Idaho; the Northwest Digital Archives, offering enhanced access to primary sources in the Northwest US; cooperative purchasing of databases, ebooks and ejournals, and other digital library services. In addition to its members, the Alliance extends selected services to more than 280 libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies in seven western states. www.orbiscascade.org Contacts Lizabeth (Betsy) A. Wilson Lynn N. Baird Chair, Board of Directors Dean of Library Services Orbis Cascade Alliance PO Box 442350 Dean of University Libraries University of Idaho Box 352900 Moscow, ID 83844-2350 University of Washington [email protected] Seattle, WA 98195-2900 [email protected] .