Just out on Libllicense. Says Ann Okerson: "This is a pretty major announcement -- 2,800 libraries combining their buying clout.... " --
Citing economies of scale that will improve service and reduce
costs, the Michigan Library Consortium (MLC) and INCOLSA (Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority) will combine their e-resources group licensing services. Beginning in October 2008, INCOLSA members will gain access to the e-resources collection of MLC, including several hundred databases and eBooks from more than 55 publishers and suppliers, ejournals from all the major publishers, and products such as SerialsSolutions, Aeon, Ares, and SFX. Better discounts, increasing the number of participants, and reducing overhead for purchasing agents are just some of the benefits of this arrangement. INCOLSA and MLC will launch this cooperative venture at the end of September. MLC will manage for INCOLSA member libraries all renewals, new subscriptions and invoicing for e-resources beginning in October. INCOLSA serves 768 member institutions, representing more than 2,200 libraries throughout Indiana. MLC is a non-profit membership organization providing over 600 Michigan libraries of all types.
http://www.incolsa.net
http://www.mlcnet.org