Prospector Announces Plans to Adopt OpenRS in Summer 2027
~ Regional Library Network Builds on More Than 25 Years of Collaboration to Strengthen Resource Sharing ~
PHILADELPHIA — October 28, 2026 — Prospector, the primary union catalog and resource-sharing system for the state of Colorado and the University of Wyoming, shares plans to transition to OpenRS in summer 2027. The move marks an important step in Prospector’s continued efforts to strengthen collaboration among participating libraries and expand access to shared resources across the region.
Launched in 1999 by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries with eight academic libraries, it has grown to nearly 200 institutions, including most of the state’s academic and public libraries. The system facilitates more than 400,000 loans annually, and its database contains nearly 15 million unique bibliographic records representing more than 30 million items. It has allowed patrons to place requests and have them delivered to a library of their choosing.
Beyond lending physical materials such as books, DVDs, and CDs, Prospector has pioneered digital lending. The system began lending Springer ebooks — now published by Springer Nature — in 2012 and has since expanded to include other major academic publishers. In each case, consortium-wide or local library agreements have enabled this important service.
Today, Prospector is supported through a collaboration among three partners: the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, the Marmot Library Network, and the Colorado State Library.
By adopting OpenRS, Prospector is taking the next step in its longstanding commitment to resource sharing, building on more than 25 years of collaboration while preparing to meet the evolving needs of libraries and their communities.
About the Open Library Foundation
The Open Library Foundation was created in 2016 as an unbiased, independent not-for-profit organization to ensure the availability, accessibility and sustainability of open source and open access projects for and by libraries. Software developed by communities hosted by the Foundation is freely available under standard open source licenses for personal, institutional or commercial use. The software is open and free in order to sustain an open collaboration of interested parties. The Foundation provides infrastructure by which the library community at large can organize, contribute to, and benefit from our projects — ensuring availability and a “safe haven” for member communities’ output that is separated from the needs and goals of any single contributor, user or affiliated party. Find out more at www.openlibraryfoundation.org.
About the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
The Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries is a consortium of sixteen academic and research libraries in Colorado and Wyoming dedicated to collaboration, resource sharing, and advancing scholarly communication. Member institutions work together to provide seamless access to world-class collections and services for students, faculty, and researchers.
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To learn more about OpenRS and its approach to resource sharing, visit openrs.org.
