Lori A. Schwabenbauer

Welcome to TCLC!

2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Tri-state College Library Cooperative (TCLC). In 1967 the original founders, library directors from twelve colleges throughout the Philadelphia area, could have no way of knowing their fledgling consortium would grow to almost four times its original size. Over the last forty years, TCLC has attracted as members college and university libraries both small and large, becoming a primary source of academic library staff development and resource sharing in the tri-state region.

TCLC's mission is "to advance, promote, and develop the best possible research and scholarship on the part of students and faculty members of participating colleges and research institutions and other persons interested in the educational process." To further the Cooperative's mission, member libraries exchange information, develop programming, and cooperate in other areas of mutual interest. In recent years TCLC committees have won grants to further library staff development, clarified agreements that enable students from all TCLC institutions to borrow freely from any member library, and revised the dues structure to ensure fair and affordable membership fees for academic libraries of all sizes. This year TCLC celebrates its Ruby Anniversary. The ruby gemstone is said to hold an eternal flame of passion in its depths, making the ruby a fitting emblem of TCLC members' tireless enthusiasm for improving scholarship by sharing library resources and information. I hope you will find TCLC a source of assistance and inspiration in your own scholarly endeavors.

Lori A. Schwabenbauer, MSLS
President of TCLC 2006-2008