Abstract: An interconnected book-package system permitting the circuit boards within book packages to communicate exclusively of the backplane (e.g., 300). This permits a circuit board that would otherwise have to be constructed from a larger than standard size circuit board and housed within a larger than standard size book package to be formed out of two standard size or smaller circuit boards housed within standard size book package assemblies. This is especially useful to customers seeking upgrade flexibility. The book packages of the interconnected system are connected mechanically and electrically exclusively of the backplane by a connection assembly (e.g., 502, 414, 504, 416) that makes it possible to blindly plug the book packages together. Multi-book latch assemblies include a clip (e.g., 702 and/or 704) used to interconnect the latches on a pair of book packages so that the connected books can be plugged into the backplane as a unit.