The IDS Project: promoting library excellence through community and technology

Purpose - This paper aims to report on the IDS Project, a volunteer-driven library cooperative known for its technological innovations, to describe how the project has evolved, and to review some of the technological innovations it has spawned and the benefits those innovations have brought to both members and non-members. Design/methodology/approach - The authors use a case study approach to highlight some of the major accomplishments of the IDS Project. Findings - Although the IDS Project is typically known for its technological innovations, those innovations are really an outward manifestation of the community of trust and mutual support that members have carefully nurtured from the project's beginning. Originality/value - Readers will gain an understanding of the IDS Project, how its community of trust and support contribute to its ongoing successes, and how that trust and support might be scaled up to benefit the entire resource sharing community.