Illinois Heartland Library System

What Illinois Heartland Library System does

Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) is a state agency established in 2011 that supports 500+ member libraries across 28,268 square miles of central and southern Illinois, serving the library needs of approximately 2.16 million residents. As one of only two multi-type library systems in Illinois, IHLS serves public, school, academic, and special libraries through a portfolio that includes free five-day interlibrary delivery, consulting, continuing education, grant administration, cataloging services, and shared digital collections. Its core technology stack is built on the Polaris Integrated Library System (ILS) for the SHARE shared automation consortium, supplemented by OCLC's CloudLibrary platform for digital lending, OCLC WorldCat Discovery/FirstSearch for catalog search, an Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) for delivery sorting, and the proprietary L2 platform (librarylearning.org) for member directory, learning calendar, and event registration.

IHLS operates three regional delivery hubs (Carbondale, Champaign, Edwardsville) that physically route materials between member libraries, augmented by a same-day Delivery On the Go (DOGs) overlay for items already on an active route. The SHARE consortium, comprising 190 libraries, shares a single Polaris database and provides access to 75,000+ digital items via CloudLibrary, while a parallel eRead Illinois collection on Baker & Taylor's Axis 360 aggregates resources from over 400 RAILS and IHLS libraries. Continuing education programming includes monthly Third Thursday sessions, an annual Member Day, Directors Chat forums, MEPL meetings, and leadership programs such as Directors University and Elevate Illinois Libraries. Grant programs include the HR Source Membership Grant (reducing HR service costs from $1,395-$2,095 to $200-$700) and the Marketing Microgrant (up to $600 for small libraries), the latter funded by proceeds from the IHLS Store on SpreadShop and Redbubble.

The organization's revenue model is dominated by appropriations from the Illinois General Assembly administered through the Illinois State Library and Secretary of State, supplemented by federal Library Services and Technology Act grants via the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. Ancillary revenue streams include membership-tier fees, fee-based HR Source webinars ($10-$25 for members, $35-$250 non-member), and merchandise sales through the IHLS Store. IHLS does not disclose revenue or budget figures publicly, and the entity has no private equity, venture capital, or parent company ownership beyond its government designation under the Illinois State Library.

Name

Illinois Heartland Library System

Legal name

Illinois Heartland Library System

Website

https://illinoisheartland.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Illinois Heartland Library System is a state agency serving 500+ member libraries across central and southern Illinois. It provides interlibrary delivery, operates the SHARE consortium with Polaris ILS and CloudLibrary digital access, and administers continuing education, consulting, and grant programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Library System Support Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK), Library Collections & Cataloging Services (Acquisitions, Metadata, Circulation) (EDAEAGAE), Library/Media Center & Digital Resource Management Systems (EDAJAMAN), Regional Education Service Agencies (ESAs/BOCES/Intermediate Units) (EDADABAC)

Keywords

• Library system services
• Interlibrary delivery
• Shared library automation
• Library consulting
• Continuing education libraries

Headquarters

HQ city

Edwardsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Funding: IHLS is a state agency funded by the Illinois State Library and the Secretary of State from revenue appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly, and by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Library Services and Technology Act provisions.
2. Membership Services: Various membership tiers with some services requiring fees, including HR Source membership grants that reduce costs to member libraries, and e-resource participation fees for standalone members.
3. IHLS Store: Merchandise store selling branded items; proceeds fund marketing microgrants for member libraries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

Illinois Heartland Library System is a state agency that provides shared infrastructure and support services to 500+ member libraries across central and southern Illinois, including free five-day interlibrary delivery through three regional hubs, the SHARE shared-automation consortium on Polaris ILS, statewide cataloging through the Cataloging Maintenance Center, digital lending via CloudLibrary and eRead Illinois, continuing education, consulting, leadership development, grants administration, and searchable reference databases for grants, library policies, and vendor discounts.

Product overview

Illinois Heartland Library System is a state library support agency serving 500+ member libraries in central and southern Illinois through a platform of interconnected services. The core offerings include IHLS Delivery (five-day interlibrary delivery via three regional hubs in Carbondale, Champaign, and Edwardsville, including same-day Delivery On the Go service); the Cataloging Maintenance Center for statewide cataloging services; and SHARE, the consortium's shared automation program using Polaris ILS. Digital resources include SHARE CloudLibrary (OCLC's CloudLibrary platform with 75,000+ items) and eRead Illinois (Baker & Taylor Axis 360 with 400+ library contributions). Additional services include continuing education, consulting, leadership programs, and searchable databases for grants, library policies, and vendor discounts. IHLS also administers grant programs including HR Source Membership Grant and Marketing Microgrant, funded partly by proceeds from the IHLS Store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHARE: SHARE (Sharing Heartland's Available Resources Equally) is the shared automation program of Illinois Heartland Library System, comprised of multi-type libraries sharing a database and implementing library automation software.

Products and services

• IHLS Delivery Services
• Delivery On the Go (DOGs)
• SHARE Consortium (Sharing Heartland's Available Resources Equally)
• SHARE CloudLibrary
• eRead Illinois (Axis 360)
• OCLC Services (WorldCat Discovery and FirstSearch)
• Cataloging Maintenance Center (CMC)
• Continuing Education
• Consulting Services
• HR Source Membership Grant
• IHLS Marketing Microgrant
• School District Library Grant
• Leadership & Innovation Services
• Grants Database
• Library Policies Database
• Vendor Discounts Database
• Resources for Libraries Database
• Delivery Help Desk
• IHLS Store

Quantifiable outcome

• Free 5-day interlibrary delivery service available to all 500+ member libraries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Illinois State LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHLS is a state agency funded by the Illinois State Library and the Secretary of State from revenue appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly. Illinois State Library provides funding through appropriations and administers Library Services and Technology Act grants.
• U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding for Illinois library systems is provided by IMLS under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.
• HR SourcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHR Source is a network for employers offering HR education, consultation, data, and templates. IHLS provides HR Source Membership Grants to public libraries reducing costs from $1,395-$2,095 to $200-$700. HR Source provides qualified legal services, compensation survey data, education, and a hotline connecting to HR experts and employment law attorneys at no extra cost.
• SHARE (Sharing Heartland's Available Resources Equally)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE is the shared automation program of IHLS comprising multi-type libraries sharing a database and implementing Polaris library automation software. All IHLS members are eligible to join SHARE LLSAP.
• CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIllinois academic and research libraries can participate in CARLI. IHLS members who are members of CARLI participate in Illinois Library Delivery Service (ILDS) instead of IHLS delivery services.
• OCLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationIHLS provides WorldCat Discovery for searching through OCLC. All IHLS Members have access to FirstSearch databases provided by Illinois State Library. Libraries can become OCLC members through Illinois State Library group services pricing for ILL and cataloging services.
• OCLC (CloudLibrary)coreTechnology or IntegrationSHARE CloudLibrary is a shared digital collection on OCLC's CloudLibrary platform, also accessible from SHARE Mobile Library app. 190 SHARE libraries have access to 75,000+ digital items.
• Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAILS is another Illinois library system. IHLS delivery interacts with RAILS delivery service. Libraries can use RAILS Interlibrary Delivery for some materials routing.
• Illinois Library AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHLS partners with Illinois Library Association on Directors University and Elevate Illinois Libraries Leadership Program.
• Illinois State Board of EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIHLS connects members with Illinois State Board of Education resources, particularly for school library compliance with HB0234 media literacy requirements.

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS): The other multi-type library system in Illinois, covering northern and western Illinois. RAILS delivers the same categories of services (delivery, CE, resource sharing, consulting) as IHLS but to a different geographic footprint, making it the most direct structural peer.
• CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois): Illinois academic and research library consortium that operates the I-Share catalog and Illinois Library Delivery Service (ILDS). Partners with IHLS for delivery handoffs and serves an overlapping member base, making it a directly comparable resource-sharing consortium.
• Bibliomation: A Connecticut-based library consortium providing shared automation, cataloging, and resource sharing to public and school libraries. Closely comparable to IHLS as a multi-type cooperative running a shared ILS on behalf of member libraries.
• MOBIUS (Missouri library consortium): A multi-type library consortium in Missouri providing shared ILS, resource sharing, and delivery services to academic and public libraries. Closely comparable to IHLS in operating model, governance structure, and service portfolio.
• Minitex (Minnesota Library Consortium): A multi-type library consortium serving Minnesota and the upper Midwest with delivery, resource sharing, and shared ILS services. Operates a similar service mix to IHLS (delivery, ILL, CE, technology infrastructure) under a comparable regional/state-funded model.

Broad incumbents

• Illinois State Library: The parent funding and oversight entity for IHLS under the Office of the Secretary of State. Operates the Library Services and Technology Act program for Illinois and administers group pricing on OCLC, making it both a funder and a broader incumbent in Illinois library infrastructure.
• OCLC: Global library cooperative that provides WorldCat Discovery, WorldShare ILL, FirstSearch, and CloudLibrary — the core technology stack underlying IHLS's SHARE consortium and digital lending. A broader incumbent that shapes IHLS's capabilities and cost structure.
• Lyrasis: A large nonprofit technology and content services organization serving libraries, archives, and museums across the U.S. Provides shared platforms, preservation, and consulting comparable to IHLS's CMC and consulting services, but at a national rather than regional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtiktok.com/@ilheartlandls
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFXqSDwlywf0JY98KAlzIvQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/illinoisheartland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illinois-heartland-library-system
• Instagraminstagram.com/ilheartlandls

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Illinois Heartland Library System