Established in 1989, SOLS delivers programs and services to Ontario public libraries in the southern half of the province, in a geographic area bounded by Windsor in the south, to Ottawa and the Quebec border in the east, and as far north as Muskoka.
[6] A spokesperson for Michael Tibollo, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, stated that SOLS and OLS-North are "arms-length agencies that have no involvement in the day-to-day operations of Ontario’s public libraries".
[7] The interlibrary loan network was operated using a van delivery system and postal service.
[7] It also resulted in the cancellation of interlibrary loan from other provinces; library systems may honour such requests, but must fund the program instead of using SOLS.
[6] In 2019, the executive director of the Ontario Library Association stated that SOLS and OLS-North "provide highly valued services".