About ReCAP

ReCAP, the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, Inc., is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation that preserves the collections of its member libraries and empowers its members to share their research materials and still be available to readers for into the future. ReCAP, incorporated in 2000 and jointly owned and operated by Columbia University, Harvard University, The New York Public Library and Princeton University, enables its members’ cooperative and efficient use of resources to serve their user communities.

With over 18 million items currently in its care, ReCAP operates one of the world's largest library and archives preservation repositories. Located on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus, it provides daily print and digital delivery of these materials to its member libraries and to libraries around the world through interlibrary loan. The storage environment at the ReCAP facility is highly optimized for preservation of library and archival collections. The ReCAP facility's storage modules provide more than four times the longevity of conventional library stacks and its inventory control systems prevent any loss of materials.

ReCAP manages a large shared print program comprised of millions of items held at the ReCAP facility and the Harvard Depository. The shared materials are kept in perpetuity and shared among ReCAP members. Building on this program, ReCAP enables its partners to engage in coordinated collecting.

ReCAP is committed to sustainable preservation in many ways - through its care of collections, its use of sustainable energy sources and maintenance of a conservation landscape, its cooperative business models, and through partnerships that explore opportunities to optimize and improve library collections management.