In March of 2014, Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State, along with the Illinois State Library, created a grant that would make it possible for libraries to join SHARE, the local library automation consortium of the Illinois Heartland Library System.

The Dream Grant not only helps libraries with fees and equipment but also allows SHARE staff to support the libraries in the process of coming online. Existing SHARE member libraries benefit from the addition of approximately 750,000 new items in the shared catalog. The additional members to SHARE helps keep the annual fees down for everyone! Today, we have over 60 libraries that have signed up to join or have already become a part of SHARE as part of the Dream Grant. We believe that adding these new libraries is making resource sharing even stronger than we could have imagined.

The Dream Grant video highlights how SHARE membership can have a very positive impact on a community—especially smaller more rural ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSf6mMT3UD0

For more information on the grant, please contact Chris Dawdy, SHARE Director (cdawdy@illinoisheartland.org | 618.656.3216 ext. 443) or Ellen Popit, Membership and Grants Director (epopit@illinoisheartland.org | 618.985.3711 ext. 624).