What happened to searching TRLN?

What was Search TRLN? 

Search TRLN and TRLN Discovery provided a way to search across the collections of the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN): NC State University, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and UNC—Chapel Hill.

Why can’t I search it now? 

In summer 2026, we upgraded our integrated library system (ILS). The new search tool implemented in connection with that migration, Discover, brings multiple formats—books, media, articles, chapters, journal titles—into a unified search interface that, by default, displays only items held by the NC State University Libraries.

What’s new? This news item explains the benefits of the new system. It also describes how we’ll be implementing a new interlibrary loan tool in December 2026 that will make extending your search to other libraries as easy as it was previously. In the meantime, we apologize for any immediate negative impact on your work caused by the recent changes.

Why the change? Our previous ILS was over 20 years old, and we were unable to update functions and workflows to advance our services. These systems are a major investment in academic libraries, and coordinating changes across TRLN and the UNC System is a long-term, ongoing, and complex task. Resource sharing, in particular, also relies on additional systems which, over time, are subject to technological change and must evolve to maintain our high service standards.

We’re still part of TRLN. We continue to invest in cooperative agreements and infrastructure with our TRLN and UNC System partners to leverage our proximity and shared goals and to deliver our combined collections rapidly across the region and state.

How can I search nearby libraries’ collections? 

During Summer and Fall 2026:

• You can search the individual TRLN libraries’ catalogs, then request the item through NC State’s Interlibrary Services for the item you want (or visit the library in person to get it yourself).
  • Duke University
  • UNC—Chapel Hill
  • North Carolina Central University
• You can also access WorldCat at the bottom of every Discover search page, as well as from the Discover homepage. WorldCat will show you every library that owns the item you’re searching for.
• You can always request items through Interlibrary Services without having to know which library owns the items. Our Interlibrary Services team will request items from around the world, as always, to get items into your hands as quickly as possible.

Starting December 2026: 

• We’ll be implementing a new interlibrary loan tool that will make extending your search to other libraries as easy as it was previously. It won’t be limited to, but will include, the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN).