Library consortium

The term Digital Library has a variety of potential meanings, ranging from a digitized collection of material that one might find in a traditional library through to the collection of all digital information along with the services that make that information useful to all possible users. As there are many definitions of a “digital library,” terms such as “electronic library” and “virtual library” are often used synonymously. A digital library is nothing but a large database for the people who are working on hypertext environment. It is an environment, which supports the full life cycle of creation, storage, preservation, dissemination and use of data, information and knowledge

Consortia in Libraries

Consortia or Consortium is now being overheard everywhere. It is more because of electronic or digital form of information. In the West, Consortia is a thing of the past, where there were models for print journal subscriptions, co-operative resource sharing, etc. But in this electronic age it has gained momentum even in the developing countries. Please go through the following links to know more about consortia.

Basics:

• Consortia and the big deals: A new way of doing business or the end of the technical library? [Article in .pdf]



• Consortia Building and Electronic Licensing as Vehicles for Re-Engineering Academic Library Services: The Case of the Technical Knowledge Center and Library of Denmark (DTV) [Article]



• Consortia licensing: Implications for digital collection development [Article]



• Consortia governance and management [.ppt presentation]



• Consortia vs Reform: Creating Congruence [Article]



• Electronic books, journals, and beyond: Issues and opportunities for library consortia [.ppt presentation]



• ICOLC Statement on Electronic information



• Issues facing academic Library consortia and perceptions of members of the Illinois Digital Academic Library [Article in .pdf]



• Library consortia: Where have we come from? Where are you going? [.ppt presentation]



• Library Consortia Documents Online

It is a collection of about 100 Web-accessible primary source documents dealing with the governance and administration of library consortia and cooperatives. This site will be useful for practitioners who need to study consortial governance documents while reviewing or creating their own consortium's governance structure. This site will also be helpful for library and information science educators with research interests in library consortia and cooperatives, as well LIS students doing class projects or research papers on the topic.

• Licensing and public libraries [Article]



• Licensingmodels.com

Provides suite of standard licenses designed for the acquisition of electronic journals and other electronic resources. They contain the words needed to express most of the variables publishers and librarians – and the subscription agents who are experienced in handling the supply of journals - will meet in negotiating licenses.

• Licensing principles prepared by IFLA Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters (CLM)



• Sharing of E-journals through consortia in Indian libraries: A round table

A round table discussion on this topic held in Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore between November 28-29, 2002. Presentations made in this discussion are available on this site.

Consortia Coalitions:

India:

• Consortia development: Three success stories

Informatics India with initiation from three different educational institutes has successfully developed three consortium models. These are SNDT University conortia of Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) with other six universities, Secondly Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and Astrophysics [FORSA] consortia of Kluwer E-journal consortia program with five institutes and finally IIMs consortia of 33 Kluwer journals in management sciences.

• CSIR Consortia

It is a consortium for CSIR Laboratories for Accessing e-journals.

• Forum for Resource Sharing in Astronomy and Astrophysics [FORSA]

Electronic access to journals published by few publishers with member and branch libraries has been made possible under this forum.

• Indian Digital Library of Engineering Science and Technology [INDEST] Consortium

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as per the recommendations of expert group headed by Prof Balakrishnan of IISc has set-up "Consortia-based Subscription to Electronic Resources for Technical Education System in India". This consortia is available in three models. Presently all the IIT's, IISc, NITIE, most of the Regional Engineering colleges and Indian Institute of Management's are its members. The consortium being an open-ended proposition, welcomes institutions to join it on their own for sharing maximum benefits it offers in terms of lower subscription rates and better terms of agreement with the publishers. All electronic resources being subscribed shall be available from the publisher's Website. The membership of the consortium is open to any Private or Government-funded Engineering / Technological / Educational institutions / Universities for one or more electronic resources. The consortium will charge nominal annual fee for its services.

• Inflibnet: Consortium of e-journals among university libraries

Inflibnet under UGC Infonet is planning to have consortium of e-journals subscriptions among the university libraries. It is being planned to provide this service through higher bandwidth of internet connection, which will be given to University libraries in a phased manner.

• Partnership for Success: A case of IIMs libraries' consortia model [Article]

International:

• BC Electronic Library Network

The British Columbia Electronic Library Network (ELN) is a partnership between the Province of British Columbia and its post-secondary libraries. ELN's purpose is to develop, promote and maintain system-wide mechanisms that allow post-secondary libraries to meet the expanding information needs of the province's learners and educators, at the lowest possible cost.

• Center for Research Libraries [CRL]

It is an international not-for-profit consortium of colleges, universities and libraries that makes available scholarly research resources to users everywhere. CRL is governed by the major research libraries of North America and is funded by fees, grants and contributions.

• Illinois Digital Academic Library [IDAL]

Provides high quality collection of full text and image digitized resources that supports instruction, study, and research by students, faculty and staff in all eligible Illinois higher education institutions.

• International Coalition of Library Consortia [ICOLC]

It is an informal, self-organized group comprising (as of September 2000) nearly 150 library consortia from around the world. The Coalition serves primarily higher education institutions by facilitating discussion among consortia on issues of common interest. It conducts regular meetings to keep members informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to directors and governing boards of consortia.

• Library Consortia in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho

It provides an overview of selected library consortia active in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, with an emphasis on those that include academic libraries.

• South Asia Library Consortia

Members of the Committee on Insitutional Cooperation [CIC] with major South Asia collections joined together in 1993 for a program of cooperative activity that will improve collections on South Asia in the Midwest and access to them. This ensured the development of Digital South Asia library. The library includes good number of Indian and other South Asian countries publications.

• Washington Research Library Consortia

It is a regional resource-sharing organization established by several universities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to expand and enhance the information resources available to their students and faculty.