Beginning in 2001, the Illinois State Library in collaboration with a long list of e-resource providers launched Try-It! Illinois, an extensive database trial for Illinois libraries. Since then, each year ILLINET member libraries, their staff, and patron communities have been invited to sample and evaluate a wide variety of electronic resources for a two-month period.

The Reference and User Services Association, acting for the American Library Association in its adoption of their Interlibrary Loan code, recognizes that the sharing of material between libraries is a core library service and believes it to be in the public interest to encourage such an exchange. They provide a Interlibrary Loan Request Form for libraries to send a request to any library that has the requested item.

LibraryThing is “book-geekery,” a site where you can create an easy, library-quality catalog for your personal library, using Amazon, the Library of Congress, and 2231 other libraries. With a free account, you can catalog up to 200 books. It also offers a community of readers to discuss your favorite books, and find new books to read, without influence by commercial marketing.

LibraryReads is an excellent readers’ advisory tool. It is a monthly nationwide library staff picks list for adult fiction and non-fiction. Their goal is to help connect librarians’ favorite books to as many readers as possible, while drawing upon the incredible power that public library staff has in helping to build word-of-mouth for new books, and the important role that libraries play in creating audiences for all kinds of authors.

The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies & music, as well as 327 billion archived web pages. The site provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public. Our mission is to provide Universal Access to All Knowledge.