A message from
Brad Frasher
CEO of Soutron Global
Every now and then, you come across a library story that reminds you why this profession matters so much.
Pennsylvania's POWER Library is one of those stories. What started as a statewide resource-sharing initiative has grown into something much bigger: a true digital library ecosystem that connects hundreds of libraries and millions of residents through a single, unified experience.
Now, that may sound like a technology story, and in many ways it is. But at its heart, it's really a people story.
It's about a high school student in a small town finding the research material they need. It's about a retiree digging into family history records. It's about a business owner accessing reliable market information. And it's about making sure geography doesn't determine who gets access to knowledge.
What makes Pennsylvania's approach so remarkable is that it didn't choose the easy path.
Many resource-sharing networks focus on a single library type. Pennsylvania brought together public libraries, academic libraries, school libraries, and special collections into one statewide environment. That's a much heavier lift, but it creates far greater value for residents.
Today, through POWER Library, a resident can search collections from roughly 800 participating libraries, find a title located anywhere in the state, place a request, and have that item delivered to their local library. The process feels simple to users because an enormous amount of collaboration happens behind the scenes.
I've always believed the best technology disappears into the background. When patrons can focus on finding information instead of figuring out systems, you've done your job right.
Brad Frasher, CEO, Soutron Global
Back in 2015, HSLC, Pennsylvania's nonprofit library technology partner, selected SHAREit to support statewide interlibrary loan services. The goal was clear: strengthen and modernize one of North America's largest statewide union catalogs while improving access to resources for residents across the Commonwealth.
What I appreciate most about the relationship is that it never stopped with the original project.
Over the years, the work expanded from resource sharing to include database authentication, e-card provisioning, analytics, reporting, and digital content discovery. Together, HSLC, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and our team continued asking a simple question:
"What else can we do to help people access information?"
That's where real innovation happens. Not in a product launch. Not in a contract signing. It happens when partners keep solving problems together year after year.
I'm a numbers guy, so here are the ones I like best.
Loan request fill rate
Before SHAREit, about two out of three loan requests got filled (67%). By 2016 that climbed to 81 to 83%. In fiscal year 2024-25 it hit nearly 90%. When nine out of ten requests come through, folks stop wondering whether to bother asking.
The network handles more than 100,000 loans a year. In the first year alone, borrowing instead of buying saved the Commonwealth about $1.8 million. At today's average hardcover price of $30, that figure is over $2.46 million. That is real money that libraries can spend on something else.
More than 100,000 people now hold active e-cards. Libraries with real-time connections keep their holdings current instead of waiting on a yearly upload. And the small school library without a cataloger still gets to lean on good records from the big academic shops, which is the cup-of-sugar idea all over again.
To me, that's what success looks like.
We spend a lot of time talking about artificial intelligence these days, and rightly so.
But one thing I often point out is that generative AI tools can only work with the information available to them. They don't have access to authenticated research databases, licensed journals, subscription resources, or many of the specialized collections libraries provide. POWER Library gives people access to exactly those kinds of authoritative resources.
That makes libraries more important, not less.
As misinformation becomes easier to generate and distribute, trusted information becomes more valuable. Libraries remain one of society's most reliable gateways to vetted, credible knowledge.
What Pennsylvania has built over the past decade is more than a successful technology project.
It's a blueprint.
A blueprint for how libraries can work together across institutional boundaries. A blueprint for expanding access regardless of location. And a blueprint for evolving from traditional resource sharing into a comprehensive digital service platform.
The lesson is simple. When libraries collaborate, everyone wins.
Brad Frasher, CEO, Soutron Global
And when technology is paired with a long-term vision and trusted partnerships, remarkable things can happen.
Here's my takeaway for any state library leader reading this. Most software projects end the day the system goes live. The good ones are just getting started. What Pennsylvania built didn't come from a box. It came from HSLC, the libraries, and our team sitting down together year after year and asking what folks need next.
Forty-some years after Access Pennsylvania opened its doors, it's still evolving. That's an effort I'm glad to be part of. Here's the full story of our technology partnership, from their perspective.
If you'd like to talk about what this could look like in your state, book a 20-minute discovery call with our team.
