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Library Consortia

Jaba Das

Librarian, PM SHRI KV No. 4, Bhubaneswar

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Library Consortium - Meaning

  • “Consortia “is a plural form of “consortium “but is often used in a singular form.
  • Consortium is derived from the Latin word “consort” which means partnership.
  • A library consortium is a group of libraries which come together to realize a combined objective
  • that usefully requires co-operation and the sharing of resources.
  • The library consortium mainly deals with resource sharing in digital or electronic format.
  • The aim of the consortia is to achieve what the members of the group cannot achieve individually

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What is a Library Consortium?

A group of libraries that collaborate to share resources, expertise, and services.

Aims to achieve collective bargaining power with publishers and vendors.

Provides access to a wider range of resources and services than individual libraries could afford alone.

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What is a Library Consortium?

A Library Consortium consists of a number of libraries, preferably with some homogeneous characteristics by subject, institutional affiliation, or affiliation to funding authorities, that come together with an objective to do certain job collectively. These jobs may include:

  • Subscribe e-resources
  • Resource sharing
  • Shared cataloguing of resources
  • Shared Technology Solution
  • Shared core / peripheral collection
  • Shared cataloguing (or copy cataloguing) in network environment is still operational and relevant;

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Need of Library Consortium

Rising Costs

Diversity of User Needs

The cost of information resources has been steadily increasing. Individual libraries, especially smaller ones, often struggle to afford these resources on their own.

Users today demand access to a wider range of resources, often exceeding the capacity of a single library

Collaboration allows Librarians to share knowledge and expertise

Shared Expertise

Information Explosion

Due to intensive researches taking place in almost all fields of knowledge, there is a tremendous increase in the generation of information. It is impossible for libraries to attain self- sufficiency

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Purpose of Library Consortium

True Perspective

Publisher Perspectives

Consortia models are still evolving. The success of library consortia depends on a open dialogue between publishers and Libraries to get the common benefits

Publishers look at consortia as a instant mass market opportunity to expand their market base in many times both in terms of client base and revenue

Library Perspectives

Consortium should enable libraries to provide access to more resources than they are currently have, with lesser spending they get more resources

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Relevance of Library Consortium

Cost Savings

Expanded Access

Shared Infrastructure

Advocacy

Enhanced Services

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Benefits of Library Consortia

Improved access to information resources

Cost savings through collective bargaining. The usual increase: 5 to 10%, consortia cap: 2% to 4%;

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Standardization of library practices and procedures

Better terms of agreement for use, archival access and preservation of subscribed electronic resources

Enhanced resource sharing and collaboration

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Types and Models of Library Consortia in India

  • Open-ended consortia: any library to join, regardless of type or affiliation. (e.g., eSS)
  • Closed group consortia: Membership is restricted to specific types of libraries, (e.g., IIM Consortium)
  • Centrally-funded consortia (eSS, National Knowledge Resource Consortium –NKRC,
  • Shared-budget consortia (FORSA)
  • Publisher-initiated consortia – Science Direct

By Membership

By Source of Funding

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Some Consortia

  • E ShodhSindhu (Ess) - Provides access to e-resources to Universities, Colleges and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions merger of NLIST, UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium and INDEST-AICTE Consortium
  • National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC) – established in year 2009, is a network of libraries and information centres of 43 CSIR and 26 DST institutes.
  • DRDO Consortium – Estd. in 2009 DRDO Libraries
  • Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA)- Indian Council of Agricultural Research
  • DBT e-Library Consortium (DeLCON) Estd. In January 2009 includes 16 DBT Institutions and 18 North Eastern Region (NER) Institutions.
  • Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Consortium

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Pricing Models and Access Rights

E-Only Model

Full-Time Equivalent Model

Concurrent-Users Model

Perpetual Access V/s Annual Lease

Back-file Access

Print + E Model

Document Delivery and Pay-Per-View Model

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Challenges of Library Consortia

Governance and decision-making issues

Sustainability and funding challenges

Licensing and copyright issues

User awareness and training needs

Technological disparities among member libraries

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BELS Consortia- USA: Case study

  • BELS is a organization that provides library services and support to librarians and their school communities in 33 schools in 15 North Jersey districts.
  • The consortium works directly with librarians to train staff and implement library automation software, overseeing the library collection, loans, reports, and catalog records.
  • All 33 schools are able to share materials and supplement each other’s collections using our inter-library loan
  • Purchasing of library materials is streamlined through the BELS office, making ordering and subscribing to research databases, magazines, newspapers, and books easier – and it comes with a significant cost savings. educating successful 21st century learners.

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Proposal for School Library Consortium In India

  • Acquisition of book : Discount Structure
  • Sharing of catalogue records
  • Manpower training
  • Cloud hosting of software

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References

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