Washington Digital Library Consortium (WDLC)

The Washington Digital Library Consortium (originally the Northwest Washington Digital Library Consortium) was founded in 2008 by the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) in cooperation with the Bellingham Public Library, and 5 other libraries located in the northwest region of the state with the goal of providing a digital book collection called the Washington Anytime Library to library patrons. Originally the consortium collection was limited to downloadable audiobooks. eBooks were added to the collection starting in 2010. That was also the year WCLS requested that the Washington State Library (WSL) take over management of the consortium as part of a statewide eAudiobook project.

Over the next several years, and using federal LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), WSL expanded WDLC membership from 8 libraries to the 45 members it has today. Originally, new members received up to 50% LSTA subsidies offsetting their initial costs. LSTA funds were also used to pay the $1500 startup fees that OverDrive charged for each new member library. Direct LSTA subsidies to individual libraries were tapered off after the first several years, and the consortium became largely self-sustaining. Additional contributions of LSTA funds have been used to assist in growing and maintaining the Washington Anytime Library collection over a period of several years.

The WDLC and its digital Washington Anytime Library collection continue as an important ongoing project of the Library Development Program of the Washington State Library (WSL), itself a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. Without this consortium, and the cooperative efforts of the member libraries working together, these mostly smaller and mid-sized libraries would not be able to provide this kind of critical digital library service to their patrons, as the cost would be far too high for any single library to manage on its own. For this reason, the WSL Library Development Program has continued to support the WDLC by providing a salaried staff member to assist in managing the day-to-day business of the consortium and has also continued to provide occasional infusions of federal funding to supplement the largely self-supporting consortium’s own funds.

OverDrive restricted WDLC membership to public libraries serving a population of less than 100,000, except for WCLS, the founding member, whose population has grown to exceed 100K since 2008. Originally, OverDrive’s membership restrictions also extended to any library with a previous OverDrive account, but this rule was relaxed to allow the Richland Public Library to join the consortium in 2013. As of 2022, all but three of the state’s public library systems with population served under 100K, are active members of the consortium. In addition, two small private non-profit, 501(c)(3) libraries, located on Shaw Island and Guemes Island, have joined the consortium. For a complete list of member libraries, visit https://anytime.overdrive.com/support/members.

Funded in part by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).