Becoming a member

HathiTrust’s 200+ research and academic library members leverage their collective resources and vision to steward the largest collection of digital books managed by a non-profit organization thereby strengthening the resilience of the research and academic library community to thrive in the face of challenges. 

Since HathiTrust’s inception in 2008, our members have contributed digital library content and expertise, as well as collaborated on the organization’s strategic direction, governance, collection management, and services. As a result, millions of people around the world benefit from the preserved record of knowledge.

 Eligibility

HathiTrust currently accepts members from each of these three categories:

• Academic and research libraries (government and specialized institutions may be considered)

• University systems of libraries

• Consortia of libraries

We welcome membership inquiries from non-profit, non-U.S. research libraries to review on a case-by-case basis.  

HathiTrust does not consider memberships from:

• Libraries associated with for-profit organizations

• Public libraries without a clear research mission

• Public or private K-12 or secondary school libraries

• Non-libraries, including publishers

 Instructions

In order to receive more information about the process and whether you meet the criteria for membership:

• Please fill out a HathiTrust Membership Intake Form. Once you have submitted the request form, staff will review your request and will contact you with questions or information about next steps.

• More information regarding HathiTrust membership and what is required to be eligible can be found at https://www.hathitrust.org/join/#how-to-join

• More information about our fee model, as well as what we require to calculate an estimate, can be found here: https://www.hathitrust.org/member-libraries/resources-for-librarians/costs-fees/

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