Research Libraries UK (RLUK) (formerly CURL)[1] comprises 30 University and other research libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its aim is to increase the ability of research libraries to share resources among themselves. It provides the basis of the Copac catalogue.
The Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) started in the 1980s with seven libraries (the university libraries of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, and Oxford). By July 1996 the number of members had increased to 19, including three more in London and Trinity College Dublin.[2] In 2011, Queen’s University Belfast joined as its newest member including all 20 members of the Russell Group of universities[3].