35 Years and Counting: COPPUL Expands Northward

The Council of Prairie & Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL) is delighted to announce that eligibility for membership in COPPUL has been expanded. Earlier this year, COPPUL members voted unanimously to amend COPPUL’s bylaws to include the three Northern Territories of the country we now call Canada. Universities Canada members in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are now eligible for membership in COPPUL in addition to those in the four founding COPPUL provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  

“This is an exciting and historic moment for COPPUL,” notes David Alexander, COPPUL Board Chair and University Librarian at Vancouver Island University. “Expanding COPPUL membership eligibility to university libraries in Canada's North strengthens our collective commitment to resource access and sharing, long-term digital and print preservation, and respectful stewardship of Indigenous Knowledges.”

The membership change comes at an auspicious time for COPPUL, which marks its 35th anniversary in 2026. “COPPUL began in 1991 with 13 member libraries united by common purpose and the value of cooperation and collaboration,” says COPPUL Executive Director Jean Blackburn. “We now celebrate 26 members benefitting from consortial e-resource licensing, digital preservation support, collective print archiving, free-of-charge resource sharing and Indigenous Knowledges leadership.”

Yukon University Library is among COPPUL’s newest members. “We have worked with COPPUL for a few years as an affiliate institution,” observes Melani Adams, University Librarian at Yukon University, “and are delighted at the opportunity to become a member.  We’re looking forward to participating in COPPUL governance and accessing expanded services such as resource sharing and reciprocal borrowing.”