Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries

What Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries does

COPPUL (Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries) is a non-profit library consortium that negotiates shared licensing and operates shared digital infrastructure for university libraries across western Canada. Its 23 full member institutions and 21 affiliate members span Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, and the consortium coordinates collective procurement (electronic resources, serials) and negotiates on members' behalf, generating savings and bargaining leverage that no single member could achieve alone. Member dues are the primary revenue source, supplemented by fee-for-service contracts on its hosted infrastructure.

COPPUL's core product surface is its Digital Preservation Network, launched in April 2017. It offers Archivematica-as-a-Service for format migration and preservation planning, WestVault (a LOCKSS-based dark archive) for bit-level preservation, Arca (an Islandora-based institutional repository), Archive-It web archiving (operated jointly with OCUL), Borealis and Scholaris (shared publishing platforms), and Vault (private LOCKSS network). The consortium has more recently layered DSpace+ (a hosted DSpace service priced at $4,000 first year / $2,000 subsequent) and Pipelines+ (priced at $6,500 per pipeline per year) on top of this base. SPAN, the Shared Print Archive Network, retains print monograph and serial commitments across members (3,754 monographs and 2,841 serials retained through Phase 4).

The operating model is a member-funded cooperative rather than a commercial vendor. COPPUL partners with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), BC Electronic Library Network (BC ELN), Artefactual Systems, the Internet Archive, Stanford LOCKSS, and the University of Toronto, and holds an MOU with CAUL-CBUA to extend services into Atlantic Canada. The 2025-2028 Strategic Framework organizes activity around three pillars — renewal, resilience, and relationships — under Executive Director Jean Blackburn (appointed March 2024). COPPUL also maintains a distinct Indigenous Knowledges program and co-sponsors the Indspire Indigenous Student Award. Recognition includes multiple Outstanding Contribution Awards and the 2024 CRKN Ron MacDonald Award (to Camille Callison).

Name

Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries

Legal name

Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries

Website

https://coppul.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

COPPUL is a non-profit consortium of 23 full and 21 affiliate western Canadian university libraries that negotiates shared licensing and operates shared digital preservation infrastructure, including Archivematica, WestVault, Arca, DSpace+, and SPAN.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Library Consortium Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Library consortium services
• Digital preservation infrastructure
• Shared print archiving
• Electronic resource licensing
• Scholarly communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Member Fees: COPPUL generates revenue through membership fees from 23 full member university libraries and 21 affiliate members. Full members pay for complete participation in all COPPUL programs. Affiliate members participate in e-resource licensing and some committees.
2. E-Resource Licensing: The consortium negotiates discounted pricing and favorable terms on licensed resources for member libraries, leveraging collective purchasing power across western Canadian universities.
3. Digital Preservation Services: COPPUL offers fee-based digital preservation services including Archivematica-as-a-Service (gold/silver service levels), DSpace+ ($4,000 first year, $2,000 subsequent years), and Pipelines+ ($6,500 per pipeline per year). Revenues are returned to the community for future investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COPPUL is a library consortium of 23 university libraries across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia that negotiates discounted e-resource licensing, coordinates shared digital preservation infrastructure (Archivematica-as-a-Service, WestVault, Arca, Archive-It, Borealis), manages shared print archiving (SPAN), and supports Indigenous knowledge and scholarly communications initiatives on behalf of its member institutions.

Product overview

COPPUL is a library consortium offering a suite of collaborative digital preservation and collections management services to its member libraries across western Canada. The core portfolio includes Archivematica-as-a-Service (standards-based digital preservation processing), WestVault (distributed LOCKSS-based preservation storage), Arca (Islandora-based digital repository), Archive-It (web archiving), SPAN (shared print archiving), and the CDSN framework connecting these services. Additional offerings include Borealis, Scholaris, Vault, DSpace+, and Pipelines+ as specialized add-ons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• COPPUL Digital Stewardship Network (CDSN): A network within COPPUL focused on digital preservation, stewardship infrastructure, education, and advocacy for member institutions.
• COPPUL Indigenous Knowledge Standing Committee (IKSC)
• COPPUL Collections Community
• WestVault
• Archivematica-as-a-Service
• SPAN - North/Nord
• Arca

Products and services

• Archivematica-as-a-Service A hosted digital preservation system offering standards-based, long-term access to digital materials, provided in partnership with Artefactual Systems and hosted on UBC's EduCloud with geo-redundant backup in Kelowna, BC. Available to member libraries in gold or silver service levels.
• WestVault A community-led, highly distributed preservation storage service using the open-source LOCKSS platform, with five independently administered storage nodes at UBC, University of Alberta, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, and University of Manitoba.
• Arca An affordable next-generation digital repository service based on the open-source Islandora platform, hosted on Simon Fraser University's non-commercial cloud infrastructure, offered in partnership with BC ELN.
• Archive-It A subscription web archiving service provided by the Internet Archive, offered through a joint COPPUL-OCUL consortial license, enabling member institutions to harvest, manage, and preserve web content.
• SPAN (Shared Print Archive Network) A distributed retrospective print repository program with participating western Canadian university libraries, focused on preserving print records and reallocating library space. Phase 4 retained 3,754 monographs and 2,841 serials representing 75% of Statistics Canada titles published 1867-2012.
• Borealis A Canadian Dataverse repository service for research data management available to COPPUL member libraries.
• Scholaris A preservation storage service available to COPPUL member institutions.
• Vault A preservation storage service available to COPPUL member institutions.
• Full Library Membership Annual subscription membership open to Universities Canada-accredited degree-granting universities in western Canada, providing full participation in all COPPUL programs including licensing, digital preservation, SPAN, and committee participation.
• Affiliate Library Membership Annual subscription membership open to non-profit Canadian colleges and universities not eligible for full membership, providing participation in COPPUL licenses for electronic resources, some committees, and learning events.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC)minorOthers · 4 April 2025COPPUL became an Associate Member of the DPC, connecting with international digital preservation community and resources.
• IndspireminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 July 2022COPPUL partnered with Indspire (national Indigenous registered charity) to offer Indigenous Student Award to aspiring Indigenous librarians and archivists. Investment benefits First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people for long-term benefit to individuals, families, and communities.
• CAUL-CBUA (Council of Atlantic University Libraries)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2020Signing of memorandum of understanding for joint expertise and knowledge sharing, capacity building to accomplish shared goals. Both organizations committed to collaborating on preservation services and other mutual initiatives.
• CAUL-CBUA (Council of Atlantic University Libraries)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2019CAUL-CBUA partnership enables Atlantic Canadian university libraries to access COPPUL's Archivematica-as-a-Service. This cross-regional collaboration allows CAUL-CBUA members to use a world-class digital preservation platform without managing infrastructure locally. COPPUL Executive Director noted this demonstrates how community-driven services developed in one region can benefit institutions across Canada.
• University of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 November 2018Joint CANARIE-funded project 'DuraCloud: Linking Data Repositories to Preservation Storage' enabling Canadian researchers to access different storage services through a single interface. Co-led by Corey Davis (COPPUL) and Stephen Marks/Kate Davis (U of T).
• Public Knowledge Project (PKP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2018COPPUL became a PKP Strategic Partner, collaborating on development of Community LOCKSS Networks (PKP-PN and WestVault). Areas of cooperation include cooperative facilitation for PKP-PN use, cost-sharing for LOCKSS-O-Matic enhancements, and coordinated approach to LOCKSS Alliance communications.
• OCUL (Ontario Council of University Libraries)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2017COPPUL and OCUL joined forces in a multi-consortial Archive-It subscription, significantly expanding web archiving in Canada. With 12 COPPUL members and 12 OCUL members subscribing, this partnership lowers barriers for additional institutions to join web archiving efforts nationwide.
• Internet ArchivecoreTechnology or Integration · 9 August 2017COPPUL and OCUL partnered with Internet Archive for Archive-It web archiving service subscription, providing members with user-friendly interface for harvesting, managing, and preserving archived web content.
• NDSA (National Digital Stewardship Alliance)minorOthers · 22 June 2017COPPUL joined NDSA, connecting 22 western Canadian member libraries with over 160 NDSA member organizations in the United States. Membership enables engagement with U.S. colleagues through interest groups and access to NDSA's extensive expert network.
• BC ELN (British Columbia Electronic Library Network)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2016BC ELN partnership on Arca Digital Repository, a shared Islandora instance. Through the agreement, COPPUL members can participate in Arca with access to emerging COPPUL digital preservation services including Archivematica and LOCKSS.
• Artefactual Systems Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationJoint effort with Artefactual (Archivematica's lead developers) and UBC for Archivematica-as-a-Service. Artefactual provides ongoing development and support for the open-source platform that powers COPPUL's preservation processing services.
• University of British ColumbiacoreTechnology or IntegrationUBC provides EduCloud Server Service hosting for Archivematica-as-a-Service with geo-redundant backup in Kelowna, BC. UBC Library also hosts WestVault preservation storage node.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CAUL-CBUA (Council of Atlantic University Libraries): Atlantic Canada consortium of university libraries that COPPUL directly partners with for Archivematica-as-a-Service access. Same non-profit library consortium model in a different Canadian region, serving the same academic library customer base with overlapping digital preservation and licensing services.
• OCUL (Ontario Council of University Libraries): Ontario consortium of university libraries that jointly runs a multi-consortial Archive-It web archiving subscription with COPPUL. Closely comparable non-profit model, similar digital preservation/licensing programs, and same Canadian academic library customer segment.
• BC ELN (British Columbia Electronic Library Network): BC-based library consortium that co-operates the Arca Islandora repository with COPPUL. Highly comparable non-profit consortium structure, serving overlapping academic library customers with shared digital infrastructure.
• HathiTrust: Large-scale academic library collaborative providing digital preservation and shared print archiving, with member institutions spanning North America. Highly comparable consortium model and digital preservation use cases for COPPUL's WestVault and Arca services.
• LYRASIS: U.S. non-profit consortium offering technology, digital preservation, and licensing services to libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions. Closely comparable peer on the technology/services side and similar collaborative consortium model.
• LOCKSS Alliance (Stanford University Libraries): Stanford-hosted program whose LOCKSS technology underpins COPPUL's WestVault service. Directly comparable distributed digital preservation model serving academic libraries, with Stanford providing direct technical support to WestVault.
• WEST (Western Regional Storage Trust): U.S. regional library consortium coordinating shared print retention across western U.S. academic libraries. Highly comparable model to COPPUL's SPAN (Shared Print Archive Network) on the shared print archiving side.

Broad incumbents

• CRKN (Canadian Research Knowledge Network): Canada-wide non-profit that negotiates national licensing deals for academic libraries. Broader incumbent in the same Canadian academic library space, with significant overlap on e-resource licensing but a national rather than regional mandate.
• Internet Archive: Provider of the Archive-It web archiving service that COPPUL resells to its members under a joint OCUL consortial license. Comparable digital preservation/archive use cases, though Internet Archive is a much broader incumbent operating at global scale.

Others

• NDSA (National Digital Stewardship Alliance): Membership organization that COPPUL joined in 2017, connecting 22 western Canadian libraries with over 160 U.S. institutions focused on digital preservation standards and advocacy. Adjacent enabling community rather than a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@coppul
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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