NEW YORK – In a significant development for the world of academic libraries and archival preservation, Yale University has officially joined the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP), one of the world’s largest shared library and archival repositories. Effective July 1, 2025, Yale becomes the fifth member of the prestigious partnership alongside Columbia University, Harvard University, The New York Public Library (NYPL) and Princeton University.
With this addition, Yale contributes 2.7 million unique titles to the shared repository and in return, gains access to 8.8 million unique titles owned collectively by the consortium’s members.
“The ReCAP partnership embodies Yale University Library’s commitment to preserving and enhancing access to the scholarly record,” said Barbara Rockenbach, Yale’s Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian. “This collaboration amplifies the reach and impact of all of our collections. We are thrilled to be part of it.”
What is ReCAP and What Does It Do?
Founded in 2000 and operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP) is a shared collection and preservation initiative that houses physical materials from some of the most prominent libraries in the United States. Located on Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus, ReCAP’s state-of-the-art facility currently holds more than 18 million items, making it one of the world’s largest offsite library storage and preservation centers.
Originally launched as a joint venture between Columbia, Princeton, and NYPL—and later joined by Harvard in 2019—ReCAP is designed to preserve vast print and archival collections and enhance accessibility to them across institutions.
ReCAP provides:
Shared repository storage with climate-controlled conditions ideal for long-term preservation.
Resource-sharing infrastructure that allows participating institutions to request and receive physical materials within two business days.
Discovery to Delivery services that integrate local library catalogs with the shared collection system for seamless user experience.
Sustainable stewardship of printed knowledge, reducing duplication of materials and optimizing institutional storage.
Since its inception, ReCAP has fulfilled nearly 300,000 item requests per year from researchers, students, and libraries worldwide, ensuring that materials once relegated to storage remain actively accessible and relevant.
“Yale’s entry into the ReCAP partnership is a pivotal moment,” said Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries at NYPL. “It amplifies our collective capacity for collection stewardship and resource sharing.”
“The last 25 years of collaboration have shown that this model works,” added Ann Thornton, Chair of the ReCAP Board of Governors and Vice Provost at Columbia University. “It enables us to be responsible stewards of resources while expanding access for our academic communities.”
“ReCAP is an exemplar of what can be achieved when we work together,” said Anne Jarvis, Dean of Libraries at Princeton.
As ReCAP moves into its next chapter with Yale on board, it continues to shape the future of collaborative library science—building a global foundation for knowledge preservation and equitable access.
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