Membership
Shared Resources: Engagement and Cooperation
Membership Benefits
As a nonprofit cooperative of academic and research libraries within Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, TCLC’s member institutions range in size and student body joined by a commitment to shared resources and learning.
With membership at the institutional level, institutions can extend TCLC membership and its offerings to their staff members as an additional employment benefit. As institutional budgets must stretch further and funding sources fluctuate, TCLC’s low-cost continuing education programs, active interest groups, collective resources, and other professional development opportunities provide consistent enrichment and growth to member library staff.
Our organization includes every level of library staff and we ensure our offerings support and address the range of positions and responsibilitites.
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- Recent Annual Spring Programs
- Recent EDC programs and workshops
- Recent field trips and networking activities
In addition to our programming and activities, TCLC, through the Continuing Education Council, offers awards and scholarships for technology and library-related training and conferences. These awards are granted to staff of participating institutions from our Sr. Mary Dennis Lynch Memorial Fund.
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Beyond staff benefits, TCLC offers numerous valuable services direct to institutions and their learning communities, including:
- free ILL from TCLC libraries,
- a policy of honoring TCLC ILL requests first when possible,
- direct borrowing for students and faculty at other TCLC libraries with a letter of introduction and valid college ID,
- a vendor discount project,
- and a reciprocal ILL agreement with another library cooperative.
Membership Guidelines
TCLC membership is at the institutional level. There are opportunities for unaffiliated individuals or those from non-member institutions to attend our programming and educational activities, however, committee participation, organizational steering, and voting are responsibilities held only by member institutions contributing financially and substantively to TCLC’s shared resources.
Membership dues are based on the library budget, including salaries, books, periodicals, databases, and other library materials and supplies. Building maintenance, rentals, and other building-related expenses are excluded from this calculation. Each year, TCLC leadership carefully considers membership dues to maintain a strong organization that constantly strives to keep membership affordable to ensure the widest participation possible.
To be considered for membership, libraries must agree to provide free interlibrary loan services to TCLC libraries and to participate in the governance of TCLC according to the Bylaws. Additionally, a member library must have its own library director or other designated official responsible for the library and have collections to serve the needs of their primary users and other members of the cooperative.
Membership Group Levels
| TCLC Group Level | Library Budget | Dues |
| Group 1 | Below $150,000 | $ 386.00 |
| Group 2 | $150,000 – $299,999 | $ 695.00 |
| Group 3 | $300,000 – $599,999 | $ 1,042.00 |
| Group 4 | $600,000 – $999,999 | $ 1,390.00 |
| Group 5 | $1,000,000 – $2,499,999 | $ 1,622.00 |
| Group 6 | Over $2,500,000 | $ 1,852.00 |