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Art research collections continue to be impacted by the lingering effects of economic uncertainty and the global COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in reduced or stagnant budgets and staffing cuts. These impacts have coincided with a period of institutional reflection and examination of the fundamental role of cultural heritage institutions in society. This report is the second of two documenting the findings from the Operationalizing the Art Research Collective Collection project, which explored collaborative opportunities and models for art research libraries. This report offers qualitative findings from case study research of existing collaborations involving art libraries, while the first report examined how quantitative analysis of library collection and resource sharing data can help identify and inform decisions about collaboration opportunities. Since prospective partnerships can only become reality through the hard work of building and maintaining relationships, it is important to document the practical experiences and lessons learned from real-world collaborations. The selected case studies offer rich perspectives on how art libraries have built and maintained partnerships in a variety of settings to illustrate different partnership models that art libraries could adapt for use in other contexts. [Foreword written by Amelia Nelson. For the first report, "Sustaining Art Research Collections: Using Data to Explore Collaboration. OCLC Research Report," see ED627074. This project was supported through a grant by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.]

As art libraries face challenges from an evolving environment, repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, and static or diminishing resources, finding sustainable pathways forward becomes an increasing priority. An important option for art research collections in achieving long-term sustainability is collaboration. This report explores opportunities for collaboration between art, academic, and independent research libraries and models how quantitative analysis of library collection and activity data could be used as evidence to support decision-making about collaborative opportunities. It is intended to help support art libraries and their leaders in the ongoing stewardship and availability of art research resources. The report uses two approaches: (1) Collective collection analysis and (2) Resource sharing activity analysis. These analyses provide insight into the current state of the network of libraries supporting art research in the US and Canada, highlight the unique value art libraries can bring to partnerships, and point to possible future collaborative efforts around building, stewarding, and sharing art research collections. [Foreword by Jon Evans. This project was supported through a grant by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.]

This report presents strategies for providing efficient and affordable interlending of actual physical items from special collections for research purposes, as well as advice on determining if a loan is the most appropriate way to fulfill a particular request. Lending physical items ranks among the most divisive issues in the field of archives and special collections, perhaps the one most likely to bring out equal parts raw emotion and well-reasoned professional opinion. But solid evidence indicates that the practice of lending physical items from special collections is becoming as common as not doing so. From 2009 through 2011, a working group made up of resource sharing supervisors and special collections curators from OCLC Research Library Partnership institutions studied this issue. The most significant activity of the working group was creating a set of tools that will help institutions reconsider and streamline their processes for handling loan requests for special collections materials. These tools include: (1) a tiered approach to streamlining workflows associated with lending special collections, outlining minimal, moderate and maximum amounts of effort and overhead, to be invoked based on the material, the request, and the risk tolerance of curators and administrators; (2) a model written policy on sharing special collections; and (3) a "trust" checklist to serve as a conversation starter between a prospective lender and an institution interested in borrowing an item from special collections. This report contains a complete description of the working group's activities, plus all of the tools listed above, and advice on how best to use them. The report's principles intentionally dovetail with the Association of College and Research Libraries' 2012 revision of Guidelines for Interlibrary and Exhibition Loans of Special Collections Materials (ALA 2012). The following tools are included: (1) Model Local Policy for Lending Special Collections Materials for Research Purposes; and (2) The SHARES Facility Trust Checklist. The following are apppended: (1) Case Study--Pennsylvania State University; and (2) In-depth Analysis of the 2010 Sharing Special Collections Working Group Survey.