TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The purpose of this article is to document the history, development and current status of the IRIS Consortium in Ireland.Design/methodology/approach– This article provides a summary of the early history of IRIS.Findings– The environment within which IRIS operates has changed significantly since its beginnings in the early 1990s. The worldwide web and open access repositories have introduced new modes of information delivery and access. The development of a knowledge‐based economy as a natural strategic imperative for Ireland has placed a much greater emphasis on research in the third‐level sector. This is a context that encourages cooperative library solutions, consortial approaches to information resource development, and joint development of new services, in all of which IRIS has a central role to play.Originality/value– This article provides an insight into planning, developing, managing a consortium and resource sharing to other consortia. VL - 33 IS - 4 SN - 0264-1615 DO - 10.1108/02641619510635678 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/02641619510635678 AU - McGoldrick Fiona PY - 2005 Y1 - 2005/01/01 TI - IRIS: a resource‐sharing initiative in Ireland T2 - Interlending & Document Supply PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 208 EP - 211 Y2 - 2024/09/22 ER -