Consortia in the USA Past Present Future A

Consortia in the USA Past, Present, Future A Presentation by: Antoinette Paris Greider Association Dean, Research and Education University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky USA

Consortium: an agreement, combination or group (as of companies) formed to undertake an enterprise beyond the resources of any one member. Plural: consortia -- Merriam-Webster Online

Long Held Tradition ◦ Developed to Share Resource Library of Congress (early 1900 s) Cataloging Subject Headings Triangle Research Library Network (1933) Share library collections Center for Research Libraries (1958) Share research collections

Types of Consortia Large ◦ Concerned primarily with computerized largescale technical processing (developed in the 1960 s and 1970 s) Small ◦ Concerned with user services (location) Limited-purpose ◦ Cooperating with respect to special subject areas (Research) ◦ Concerned with the acquisitions of materials “buying clubs”

1990 s Limited-purpose network for group buying of products ◦ Databases ◦ E-journals ◦ Some instances deals with book vendors

Consortia are formed at various levels National Level ◦ OCLC Regional ◦ SOLINET (Southeastern States in the United States) State ◦ Ohio. Link – Ohio USA ◦ NC LIVE– North Carolina USA ◦ Ky. VL – Kentucky USA Local ◦ Research Triangle in North Carolina USA

Multi-type cooperation Libraries of different types form a cooperative for a specific purpose ◦ Book purchasing ◦ Cataloging Major utilities such as OCLC Focus of all on access to materials rather than ownership

Current Status Consortia flourish when it is economically viable to be part of the consortium ◦ Increased access to print collections ◦ Increased buying power for products and services ◦ Increased reference depth Varied in purpose but most deal with purchasing material

Purchasing of E-resources Major function of most large consortia ◦ Advantages Provide more titles at a lower cost Publishers willing to negotiate more favorable terms Allow flexibility in billing Can pay through the consortium Individual institutional billing Publishers favor working with one purchasing agent for a large group of customers Publishers know the active groups and are willing to go to the groups to negotiate

Purchasing of E-resources Disadvantages ◦ Difficult to form the group ◦ Time consuming to administer Each entity has its own purchasing regulations ◦ Difficult to keep together ◦ More difficult for a library to customize their serial holdings

Library Participation Provide support through their membership dues Belong to multiple consortia Pick and choose where they buy their resources

Memberships for University of Kentucky Libraries Association of Research Libraries (ARL) CRL (Center for Research Libraries) EBSCo. R (Experimental, Program, Stimulate, Competitive, Research) Solinet (Southeast Regional Library Network) ASERL (Association of Southeastern Research Libraries) Information Alliance (University of Kentucky/University of Tennessee/Vanderbilt University) SAALCK (State Assisted Academic Library Council of Kentucky) Kentucky Virtual Library. Fo. KAL (Federation of Kentucky Academic Libraries)

Future Consortia are getting larger ◦ Solinet considering merging with Palinet “Buying Clubs” will continue as long as there is an economic advantage Cooperation is expanding to other areas ◦ Cooperative grant proposals for specific needs

Expanding the Scope of the Cooperation Technology areas ◦ Large amounts of funding to create a specific product Open access Integrated Library Systems ◦ Digitization of research collections from different institutions with the same subject matter

United we stand, divided we fall -- Aesop

Acknowledgement Thank you to Mary Beth Thomson, Associate Dean for Collections and Technical Services, University of Kentucky Libraries for her input into this presentation.

Sources Consulted Bostick, Sharon L. “The History and Development of Academic Library Consortia in the United States: An Overview, ” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27, no. 1(2001): 128 -130. Bucknall, Tim. “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sharing E-Journals via a Consortium, ” Against the Grain, 17, issue 5 (2005): 30 -34. “Ohio Library Information Network. ” 12 August 2008 “Taking the Initiative, ” Library Journal, 31, supplement (3/15/2006): 44.