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The Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) is the state library agency for Rhode Island. OLIS supports and strengthens library and information services in the state to ensure that all residents will benefit from free and convenient access to library and information resources and services. In addition, OLIS participates in planning and providing access to online government information for state agencies and the public.

OLIS has the statutory authority and responsibility to administer state and federal funding and to coordinate and support programs for libraries of all types. It is part of the Executive Branch of state government located in the Department of Administration under the direction of the Chief of Library Services. OLIS works with the Library Board of Rhode Island to establish priorities and policies to carry out its mission.

The Library of Rhode Island (LORI) is the Rhode Island Library network, a virtual library consisting of the collected resources and services available from all Rhode Island libraries. The physical network is coordinated and administered by OLIS.

RILINK is a cooperative effort by Rhode Island school libraries to share their resources through an interactive, web-based catalog of library materials. Students and teachers at RILINK member schools can use their library catalogs to look for, and request, books or other items at member libraries.  Items requested are delivered to each school through the statewide library network. Currently, 160 school libraries working together form RILINK, sharing their books, audiovisual materials and expertise to provide better service to their 70,000 students and teachers.  (RILINK serves over 50% of Rhode Island public school students.) Through RILINK and its online web-based union catalog, these students and teachers have access to more than one million books and audiovisual items and more than 40,000 subject-based web links that are K-12 appropriate, chosen for their relevance to curriculum subjects.  Through the statewide library network, they also have access to the books and other materials in Rhode Island public and academic libraries.  If what is needed can’t be found in Rhode Island, the statewide library network will forward their requests throughout the entire library world, through an online international catalog and interlibrary loan system called OCLC.

The Rhode Island Library Association is a professional association of Librarians, Library Staff, Trustees, and library supporters whose purpose is to promote the profession of librarianship and to improve the visibility, accessibility, responsiveness and effectiveness of library and information services throughout Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Center for the Book at the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities is a statewide organization devoted to promoting personal and community enrichment by celebrating the art and heritage of reading, writing, making, and sharing books. Founded in 2003, Center for the Book is an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress was established in 1977 to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries. For information about its programs, publications, and the activities of its affiliated centers for the book, visit the National Center for the Book site at www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/.