OhioLINK: Statewide Academic Library Consortium

Shared collections, purchasing power, and statewide services that expand research access for CSU students, faculty, and staff.

The Michael Schwartz Library is a founding member of OhioLINK, Ohio’s statewide academic library consortium, through which CSU researchers gain expanded access to shared services and a superb collection of print and online resources. The university benefits from reduced costs through cooperative purchasing, negotiated licensing and open access agreements, and participation in statewide IT infrastructure and shared borrowing networks. All of this is funded in part by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, with member institutions contributing according to formulas that include factors such as FTE.

All shared collections are integrated into Discovery @ CSU , letting us search local and OhioLINK holdings in a single interface rather than using a separate OhioLINK central catalog.

Core benefits and shared collections

Member libraries gain access to a combined print collection exceeding 38 million items, plus extensive digital resources, including:

  • More than 100 research databases
  • Over 40 million e-journal articles
  • 290,000+ e-books
  • 84,000+ media items
  • 145,000+ theses and dissertations

OhioLINK also negotiates licenses and coordinates purchasing on behalf of member institutions, reducing costs and expanding access to resources that would be difficult or impossible for one institution to fund alone.

Collaborative services

Beyond collections, OhioLINK provides shared services that support teaching, learning, and research across the state. These include:

  • Affordable Learning initiatives such as open educational resources and course redesign grants
  • eTutoring and other student success services
  • Print lending and delivery at no additional cost to individual libraries

OhioLINK also manages the IT infrastructure and statewide book borrowing network that connect member libraries, along with cost-neutral open access publishing agreements with major publishers such as Elsevier and Wiley.

Why OhioLINK matters

OhioLINK membership delivers strong value. A 2024 analysis found that for every dollar invested, member libraries receive an average return of $11 through shared purchasing, shared access, and lending services.

  • Keeping subscription increases lower than typical market rates for major journal packages (e.g., 1.5% versus a market trend of 3–4%).
  • Supporting a statewide academic network of 87 institutions and 117 libraries, including public universities, community and technical colleges, private institutions, and the State Library of Ohio.
  • Expanding research access for CSU students, faculty, and staff even as local library materials budgets remain constrained.

OhioLINK has not gone away! OhioLINK books, articles, and other shared resources are now available directly through Discovery @ CSU so there is no longer a separate OhioLINK central catalog to search first. Start at the Research page, visit the Library Help Desk, or connect with your subject librarian for one-on-one support. We can help you discover books, articles, media, and other materials across the consortium, and show you how to request items for pickup here at CSU.