TheCape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing (CLAMS)library network is a non-profitconsortium of 35 member libraries and 38 locations throughoutCape Cod,Martha's Vineyard, andNantucket. Since it was founded in 1988,[1] the number of items available has grown from 568,000 in 1991 to over 1.6 million in 2022.[2] Deliveries of materials between member libraries and other library networks in Massachusetts through aninterlibrary loan program are made by theMassachusetts Library System located inWaltham.[3] The network uses theKoha Integrated Library System (ILS) for staff function workflows: acquisitions,cataloging, circulation, ILL, and serials and Aspen Discovery for their patron'sOnline Public Access Catalog (OPAC).[4] The libraries provide access to reference databases,digital libraries, free music online, museum passes,genealogy, workshops, and other free services that vary from each location.
Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing began a partnership withOverDrive in Spring 2008 to offer patrons 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to a publicdigital library where they could check outebook,audiobook, digital magazines, music, and video titles through the CLAMS OverDrive website. All of the public libraries participate in the OverDrive lending program.Cape Cod Community College is the only member of the CLAMS network that does not participate. However, students from the college are encouraged to obtain a CLAMS card from the library in the town that they live in. All towns onCape Cod,Martha's Vineyard, andNantucket have at least one library that is a member of the Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing network, except for the town of Sandwich.[5]
The CLAMS library network is a participant in the state's Library eBooks and Audiobooks (LEA) program; it is a lending program that allows the patrons of one network to check out ebooks and audiobooks from the collection of another network. "This service is made possible by the CLAMS member libraries and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."[6]
