European Library Consortia: Financial and Organizational Acquisition Models in Academic Libraries

1. Consortia culture: financial and organizational acquisition models in the academic libraries – example of European library consortia Alisa Martek, Croatian Geological Survey amartek@hgi-cgs.hr Sonja Avalon, National and University Library Zagreb savalon@nsk.hr Vesna Golubović, National and University Library Zagreb vgolubovic@nsk.hr LiDA 2007

2. Presenation layout • Introduction • Types of consortia • Library consortia models in Europe • Example of consortia in Croatia • International and regional consortia associations • Conclusion LiDA 2007

3. Introduction • Associating libraries in consortia • Task: rationalization of library activities through coordination of e-resources acquisition • Definition: A library consortium is a group of two or more libraries that have agreed to cooperate with each other in order to fulfill certain similar needs, usually resource sharing. LiDA 2007

4. Decentralized Loosely affiliated No formal organisation (volunteers) No staff Small benefits Centralized Tightly affiliated Govt. agency or incorporated Permanent staff Large benefits Types of consortia (Hirshon, 2001) Central organization Tightly knit federations Loose federations LiDA 2007

5. Library consortia models in Europe • Giordano (2004) analyzed library consortium models in Europe. • 3 basic models with respect to financing: • national centralized model • national decentralized model • regional model LiDA 2007

6. National centralized model • This model is based on the central role of the national library (or central library authority), which organizes the shared management of electronic resources in the context of a national strategy or long-term project in which the management of electronic licences is one component. • The funding model is based on centralized funding from the Ministry of Education and consortium members’ own funding. • Examples: • FinELib (Finland) • BIBSAM (Sweden) • HEAL-Link (Greece) – only centralized funding and strong support from EU funds LiDA 2007

7. National decentralized model • The sphere of action for this model is the acquisition and management of electronic licences in a university context. Generally the programme originates in a national perspective, but does not necessarily form part of a specific project or broader strategic design linked with other national digital projects or initiatives. • Example: COUPERIN (France) LiDA 2007

8. Regional model • Regional model is a form of cooperation structured in a regional context, namely a territorial area corresponding to federal or decentralized systems. One of the features of this model is that its funding sources come exclusively or principally from the decentralized level. • Since libraries cooperate regionally it is an example of regional consortia. • Examples: • 3 Spanish consortia: CBUC – Consorci de Biblioteques Universitàries de Catalunya, Consortio Madroño and Consortio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Andalucia • 4 Italian consortia CIBER- Coordinamento Interuniversitario Basi dati e Editoria in Rete, CILEA – Supercomputing Applications Consortia, CIPE – Coordinamento Italiano Periodici Elettronici and SBBL – a regional based and subject consortia of medical schools and hospitals in Lombardy LiDA 2007

9. Other European countries • In many countries there are more than one consortial model • the United Kingdom where there are a variety of different types of library consortia ranging from regional consortia, to specialist subject based consortia, to national consortia that focus on electronic library resources • NoWAL – North West Academic Libraries – traditional regional consortium • CHILL – Consortium of Health Independent Libraries in London – subject based consortia • CURL – Consortium of Research Libraries • JISC – Joint Information Systems Committee LiDA 2007

10. Slovenia and Serbia • COSEC – Consortium of Slovenian Electronic Collections • KoBSON – Consortium of Serbian libraries Both members of eIFL.net LiDA 2007

11. Example of consortia in Croatia • eIFL project of Open Society Institute • Committee for Acquisition of the Ministry of Science and Technology – 2001-2003 • 3 year licence with major publishers (Elsevier Science, Springer Verlag and J. Wiley and Sons). • Center for Online Databases • Biomedical consortium • National University Library in Zagreb • subject based consortium • CALC – Croatian Academic Libraries Consortia • Ofiice with full-time employee(s) dedicated to serials acquisition and licencing • Stronger influence of librarians when deciding upon new e-resources and continuation • Cooperation with Center for Online Databases honouring their tradition and work done in licencing databases LiDA 2007

12. International and regional consortia associations • ICOLC – The International Coalition of Library Consortia • eIFL.net • NORDINFO – Nordic Council for Scientific Information • SELL – Southern European Libraries Link • GASCO – German-Austrian-Swiss Library Consortia Organization LiDA 2007

13. Conclusion • Croatia is one of the few European countries that doesn't have formal national consortium established • The implementation of a new and highly productive library software Voyager • better cooperation • union catalogue • International cooperation is very important • HEAL-Link is inspired by the OhioLink • Nordic coordination being the role model for the SELL – Southern European Libraries Link • ICOLC LiDA 2007

14. Thank you! Any questions? LiDA 2007