SWAN (System Wide Automated Network) is a multi-type

library consortium A library consortium is any cooperative association of libraries that coordinates resources and/or activities on behalf of its members, whether they are school, public, academic, special libraries and/or information centers. Consortia exist on a v ...

that serves

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

libraries. It was established in 1974. It has a membership of 97 libraries in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

, and provides service to 1 million registered library users. SWAN provides a shared

online public access catalog The online public access catalog (OPAC), now frequently synonymous with '' library catalog'', is an online database of materials held by a library or group of libraries. Online catalogs have largely replaced the analog card catalogs previously ...

with more than 8 million items available to patrons, with centralized cataloging and software services. SWAN is incorporated as an Illinois Intergovernmental Entity.

Services

Libraries that are members of the SWAN library consortium add their cardholders to a central database with access to nearly 8 million items. Cardholders can also download and stream digital books,

audiobooks An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

through a collection of database subscriptions. Additional services include the following: centralized cataloging, text or email notification for items available or when they become overdue, and printed notices mailed directly to patrons. SWAN provides online video instruction to patrons and promotional material of its notification options. Libraries in SWAN have the ability to integrate purchasing of material through SWAN's

integrated library system An integrated library system (ILS), also known as a library management system (LMS), is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed. An ILS usually is co ...

. SWAN is participating in a

Linked Data In computing, linked data (often capitalized as Linked Data) is structured data which is interlinked with other data so it becomes more useful through semantic queries. It builds upon standard Web technologies such as HTTP, RDF and URIs, but r ...

project through

Zepheira EBSCO Information Services, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a private company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. EBSCO provides products and services to libraries of very many types around the ...

. This initiative is part of a

BIBFRAME BIBFRAME (Bibliographic Framework) is a data model for bibliographic description. BIBFRAME was designed to replace the MARC standards, and to use linked data principles to make bibliographic data more useful both within and outside the library com ...

conversion of MARC21 data into a linked data website hosted by Zepheira.

Governance

Member libraries elect seven library directors for three-year terms. The SWAN Board is responsible for governing and overseeing SWAN operations, including determining policies for the organization, employing an executive director, securing adequate funds for operations. Member libraries in SWAN through an intergovernmental agreement under the Illinois Cooperative Act agree to participate as members of the SWAN organization.

External links

Official website
Library consortia in Illinois 1974 establishments in Illinois