Faced with falling budgets and dim prospects for improvement on the horizon, the collected library consortia of ICOLC made a few observations worth recording.
First, the groups at ICOLC strongly believe consortial action is important to maintain. This may be somewhat self-serving, but it appears true nonetheless. Anecdotes of attempted “divide and conquer” tactics from publishers are commonplace. The ICOLCers recognize that an individual library may gain a short term advantage by breaking from a consortium, but assert that such actions result in real and lasting damage to a consortia’s negotiating power.
Second, the libraries least adversely affected by the current budget crisis are not necessarily those libraries in the most fiscally sound states. Rather, libraries and library consortia with long standing relationships with elected officials seem to be faring the best.
Finally, the ICOLC conference is teaching that simply trying to hold down costs is not good enough. Libraries need to look for ways to gain access to new revenue sources.
The ICOLC conference is clearly demonstrating the value of NYSHEI. Not only is NYSHEI membership among the largest of any consortia for academic and research libraries, but NYSHEI is also building relationships with policy makers and doing so in the pursuit of new state support of library resources and operations.
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