In 2011, the libraries at Michigan's publicly-supported universities sought to devise a collaborative approach to shared print collections among themselves. As facilitator and fiscal agent, MCLS brought together a subset of the group in a pilot project to identify titles that are commonly-held but little-used. Participating libraries used services and tools developed by Sustainable Collection Services (SCS) to identify such titles in their respective individual collections, and to compare results across the group. The pilot project continued through April 2012. Because of its success, two more libraries joined the project.
The Michigan Shared Print Initiative (MI-SPI), entered a new phase in the fall of 2019, as 14 academic libraries across Michigan committed to participate in an updated shared print endeavor. The project involved a new analysis of collection data from participating libraries using the software, GreenGlass (OCLC). GreenGlass reviews collection information and assigns libraries retention commitments, lists of print books libraries agree to keep and not weed from their collections.
MI-SPI Current & Future Status
In June 2026, the MI-SPI Deans and Directors decided to sunset the project after the existing retention commitments expire on December 31, 2034. The group agreed that MI-SPI has achieved its original goals, and that the project was successful due to the collaboration and dedication among the participating libraries. The libraries will continue to honor their retention commitments and the MOU until it expires in 2034.
