Resource Sharing Agreements

Canadian Academic Libraries Resource Sharing Agreement (CAL-RSA)

The Canadian Academic Libraries Resource Sharing Agreement (CAL-RSA) between COPPUL, Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL), Partenariat des bibliothèques universitaires du Québec (PBUQ) and Council of Atlantic Academic Libraries - Conseil des bibliothèques postsecondaires de l’Atlantique (CAAL-CBPA) came into effect on January 21, 2026. The agreement sets out principles and standards for resource sharing and reciprocal borrowing among university library consortium members across Canada. The CAL-RSA combines and replaces the COPPUL/OCUL/BCI/CAUL-CBUA Resource Sharing Agreement and the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement (CURBA).

COPPUL member institutions are covered by the CAL-RSA but COPPUL affiliate institutions are not.

COPPUL is grateful to the members of the 2024-25 Joint Resource Sharing Agreement Review Working Group. These resource sharing experts worked diligently for over a year to combine existing resource sharing and reciprocal borrowing agreements and update agreement terms to reflect the current resource sharing landscape. We extend our thanks to:

• Chair: Kit Stone (Memorial University - CAAL-CBPA)
• Wilma Carty (Acadia University - CAAL-CBPA)
• Wendy Witczak (Mount Allison University - CAAL-CBPA)
• Sarah Samson (Université Laval - PBUQ)
• Maryvon Côté (McGill University - PBUQ)
• Harjinder Rana (University of Toronto - OCUL)
• Joanne Rumig (Carleton University - OCUL)
• CJ de Jong (University of Alberta - COPPUL)
• Sarah Kienas (Brandon University - COPPUL)

COPPUL Resource Sharing Policies and Practices

The COPPUL Resource Sharing Policies and Practices guide clarifies specific resource sharing practices within COPPUL. This document will be updated in 2026 by the 2026 COPPUL Strategic Resource Sharing Working Group.