MLC and INCOLSA to consolidate E-resources Group Purchasing

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

This is a pretty major announcement -- 2800 libraries combining their
buying clout.... Ann Okerson/Yale Library

*******

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MLC AND INCOLSA TO CONSOLIDATE E-RESOURCES GROUP PURCHASING
Michigan Library Consortium will act as the buying agent for INCOLSA
members

Lansing, MI - August 14, 2008

Citing economies of scale that will improve service and reduce 
costs, the Michigan Library Consortium (MLC) and INCOLSA 
announced today that they 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 e-books from more than 55 
publishers and suppliers, e-journals from all the major 
publishers, and products such as SerialsSolutions, Aeon, Ares, 
and SFX.

"MLC and INCOLSA have been exploring ways to provide services 
more cost effectively to our members," said Michael Piper, 
INCOLSA Executive Director. "Combining our group licensing 
services will provide better discounts as we increase the number 
of participants in the program and reduce overhead for vendors, 
who now will work with one buying agent instead of two. These 
economies of scale will allow our members to stretch their 
budgets and provide more services to their constituents."

"The combined purchasing power of our memberships will give us a 
stronger negotiating position with vendors so that we can deliver 
the best possible prices to our member libraries," commented 
Randy Dykhuis, MLC Executive Director. "MLC welcomes the 
opportunity to extend access to our e-resources to INCOLSA 
members and looks forward to providing them with the excellent 
service for which MLC is known. This arrangement is a logical 
move for our organizations and our members," he added. 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.

About INSOLSA

INCOLSA is the statewide network providing leadership in 
cooperative activities for Indiana libraries. INCOLSA serves 768 
member institutions, representing more than 2,200 libraries 
throughout Indiana. More information is available at 
www.incolsa.net.

About MLC

MLC is a non-profit membership organization providing over 600 
Michigan libraries of all types with a convenient, single point 
of contact for training, group purchasing and technical support 
for electronic resources. More information is available at 
www.mlcnet.org.

CONTACTS:
Randy Dykhuis
Executive Director
Michigan Library Consortium
517-394-2420 ext 119
dykhuisr@mlcnet.org

Michael Piper
Executive Director
INCOLSA
317-298-6570 ext 128
Michael@incolsa.net

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