Penn State University Libraries

Academic Library Serviceslibraries.psu.edu

Company typePublic
Founded1855
HeadquartersUniversity Park, Pennsylvania, United States
Headcount51–100
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

Penn State University Libraries firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Penn State University Libraries
Legal name: The Pennsylvania State University
Website: https://libraries.psu.edu
Company type: Public
Founded year: 1855
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 51–100 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Penn State University Libraries industry classification

Industry

Product category: Academic Library Services
NAICS: Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)
SIC: Services-Educational Services (8200)
akta.pro primary industry: Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB)
akta.pro secondary industries: Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF), Library User Services & Information Support (Reference, Research Help, Instruction Support) (EDAEAGAL)

Keywords

Academic library services
Research data management
Digital collections
Interlibrary loan
Scholarly publishing

Where Penn State University Libraries is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: University Park, Pennsylvania
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices14 records

Markets served

Penn State University Libraries business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

University Funding: Primary funding from Penn State University as a core academic support unit, providing free access to students, faculty, and staff
Alumni Borrower Fees: Penn State Alumni Association members receive library borrowing privileges as a membership benefit
Late Fees and Replacement Charges: Fees collected for overdue materials including course reserves ($1/hour), videos ($1/day), special permission loans ($3/day), replacement library cards ($5 for non-affiliates), and replacement bills with $25 processing fee
Donations and Endowments: Accepts charitable contributions and manages endowed funds to support collections, services, and library programs
Pennsylvania Residents: Residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other approved borrowers may receive library cards with associated privileges

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Annual	Students, Faculty, Staff - Free access
Subscription	Annual	Alumni - Membership benefit
Subscription	Annual	Pennsylvania Residents and Visitors
Usage-based	Pay-as-you-go	Overdue Fees

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Penn State University Libraries product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Penn State University Libraries operates the academic library system for The Pennsylvania State University, providing physical and digital collections, catalog discovery (Catalog and LionSearch), scholarly publishing (ScholarSphere), course reserves, interlibrary loan, research data services, and specialized collections across 20+ campus locations. Services are offered primarily to Penn State students, faculty, and staff, with selected access for alumni, Pennsylvania residents, and external scholars.

Product overview

Penn State University Libraries operates as a comprehensive academic library system offering a unified platform of information access and research support services. The core infrastructure consists of the Libraries Catalog for bibliographic discovery, LionSearch for unified resource aggregation, and ScholarSphere for institutional repository functions. Supporting services include Course Reserves for instructional materials, Interlibrary Loan for resource sharing, Technology & Equipment Lending including the Omnicharge wireless charging service, and Adaptive Technology & Services for accessibility. The system maintains significant digital collections including the Digital Map Drawer, Digital Newspapers, and Special Collections accessible through the Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Research support is provided through Library Instruction, Research Data Services, and Electronic Theses and Dissertations repository services. Newer initiatives include the Harriman Recollected digital project and a self-serve PDF remediation tool for accessibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Penn State University Libraries Catalog
LionSearch
ScholarSphere
Course Reserves
Interlibrary Loan Services
Technology and Equipment Lending
Adaptive Technology and Services
Research Data Services
Eberly Family Special Collections Library
Digital Map Drawer
Digital Newspapers
Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information
Library Instruction and Workshops
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
Harriman Recollected Digital Project
PDF Remediation Tool

Quantifiable outcome

Services extended to 20+ campus locations across Pennsylvania
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use Penn State University Libraries

Customer profile

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Penn State University Libraries technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Penn State University Libraries partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the BTAA Geoportal for geospatial data sharing. Penn State contributes map data to the shared geoportal enabling cross-institutional access to geospatial information resources. Libraries contribute to shared digital infrastructure and collection development initiatives.
Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerE-ZBorrow resource sharing program allowing Penn State students, faculty, and staff to borrow materials directly from other consortium member libraries. 16-week loan periods for consortium borrowings.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaborative digitization partnerships with various Pennsylvania institutions contributing to and accessing the Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive. Jeffrey Knact as project lead coordinates with contributing partners for newspaper digitization and access.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Penn State University Libraries competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Emerging players

JSTOR: Digital library and academic content platform with which Penn State faculty/students interact directly. Highly comparable on the digital scholarly content and discovery function even though JSTOR is a commercial subscription service.
HathiTrust: Shared digital preservation repository formed by major U.S. academic libraries; Penn State participates as a member. Comparable function on the digital preservation, large-scale digitization, and collective access axes.

Broad incumbents

OCLC: Cooperative library services organization providing WorldCat cataloging infrastructure used across academic libraries. Direct overlap on discovery, cataloging and metadata services even though OCLC operates at much broader industry scale.
Ex Libris (Clarivate): Vendor of the Alma library services platform and Summon discovery layer (the platform underlying Penn State's LionSearch). Comparable on the discovery/research-platform axis as a commercial incumbent supplying peer systems.

Direct peers

University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries: Public Big Ten research library with comparable holdings depth, digitization programs, multi-campus service, and active participation in shared BTAA consortial infrastructure.
Cornell University Library: Ivy-equivalent R1 research library system operating arXiv, deep digital preservation, and extensive special collections. Highly comparable on the digital infrastructure and scholarly communications axis even though privately governed.
University of Michigan Library: One of the largest U.S. academic research library systems with comparable print and digital collections, multi-format special collections, deep preservation programs, and active participation in BTAA. Direct analog as a public R1 university library of similar scale.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library: Big Ten public research library with massive physical and digital collections, strong institutional repository, and deep involvement in shared academic infrastructure. Comparable scale and public-university mandate.
Ohio State University Libraries: Major Big Ten public research university library with comparable multi-branch structure, substantial special collections and archives, institutional repository, and strong digital services. Closest peer in size and mission profile.

Regional players

Center for Research Libraries: Consortium of academic and research libraries supporting deep preservation and access to rare scholarly resources. Comparable mission on preservation, resource sharing and shared access to non-mainstream materials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Penn State University Libraries compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance1 record

Penn State University Libraries financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Penn State University Libraries leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Penn State University Libraries subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries7 records

Penn State University Libraries funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Penn State University Libraries M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Penn State University Libraries

What does Penn State University Libraries do?

Is Penn State University Libraries a public or private company?

Penn State University Libraries is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was Penn State University Libraries founded?

Penn State University Libraries was founded in 1855. It employs 51 to 100 people.

Where is Penn State University Libraries based?

Penn State University Libraries is headquartered in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, in the North America region.

How does Penn State University Libraries make money?

Five revenue lines are on record. University Funding is the primary driver. The others are alumni Borrower Fees, late Fees and Replacement Charges, donations and Endowments and pennsylvania Residents.

Who are Penn State University Libraries's main competitors?

Emerging players on record are JSTOR and HathiTrust. Broad incumbents are OCLC and Ex Libris (Clarivate). Direct peers are University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, Cornell University Library, University of Michigan Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library and Ohio State University Libraries. Center for Research Libraries is listed as a regional player.

Does Penn State University Libraries have an API?

No public API is recorded for Penn State University Libraries.

What industry is Penn State University Libraries in?

Penn State University Libraries's product category is Academic Library Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAEAGAB, Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries), with a secondary code of EDAEAGAF, Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing). Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 8200.