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The ownership of MARC bibliographic data has been an issue between OCLC and other companies in the marketplace. Two lawsuits are discussed between OCLC and Clarivate and SkyRiver. The "WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative" provides a basis for many library contracts and how OCLC lays claim to bibliographic data. The "ICOLC Statement on the Metadata Rights of Libraries" is used as a general framework for discussing issues surrounding who owns MARC records and how they can be used or re-used. Most librarians are interested in free and open use of MARC records whether or not they may have passed through the OCLC system at some point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MOBIUS library consortium has been the leading academic library consortium in Missouri for over two decades. Building on earlier collaborative work, seed funding from the state created the consortium in 1998 and MOBIUS became a reality. MOBIUS not only runs a shared integrated library system for most of the academic libraries in Missouri but also implemented a union catalog tying libraries together for resource sharing. Over time MOBIUS has expanded membership out-of-state into Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas and Texas and as of 2022 MOBIUS has 80 library members with 232 branches. MOBIUS has also been active in licensing of e-resources for libraries, supporting member libraries in their use of open educational resources (OER), training and education, and running open-source software. The MOBIUS Open Source Services (MOSS) program is a service for members hosting software such as ArchivesSpace, Omeka-S, SubjectsPlus, and Evergreen (an open-source ILS). MOBIUS actively works with other consortia around the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The founding executive director of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, Ward Shaw, often mused that library 'cooperation is an unnatural act.' It is certainly easier to work as [...]

Library consortia are planning on how their funding, programs, and services may need to change with the societal tumult caused by the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Most consortia in North America are either state agencies or non-profit corporations which may have different approaches and options available for solving substantial budget shortfalls. Changes may need to take place in staffing, programs, and services. Some consortia may have financial portfolios which may help on filling-in budget holes. Other consortia have applied for, and received, funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help with staffing. Many library consortia will not see a quick recovery but may have long-term consequences as their member libraries and parent organizations try to recover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries and institutions around the world are working with publishers to transform scholarly publishing into an open access ecosystem. To accomplish this goal, publisher contracts are being renegotiated and modified to include transformative elements which will move in this direction. With costs shifting from traditional subscriptions to fees which incorporate Read and Publish cost elements, tools are needed to provide underlying analytics both at the negotiating level but also for the ongoing implementation of new agreements. The ongoing workflow will be more complicated since institutions will need to more closely track authors and their associated article processing charge payments. A variety of open source and commercial tools and services are reviewed which have been developed to move to a new open access publishing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries has launched the Alliance Shared Print Trust and is in the process of developing a shared print analysis tool. The system allows libraries to compare themselves with other libraries that have added their MARC records so that they can easily and quickly determine what records are unique or held in common with other libraries. The comparison system is built on open source tools and has been embedded in the Gold Rush framework. The author provides a brief overview of other shared print analysis tools. Keywords: Shared print, Consortia, Gold Rush, Library content comparison, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, Alliance Shared Print Trust The Alliance Shared Print Trust is a collaborative effort of the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (the Alliance) through which a group of academic libraries in [...]

Publish and Read agreements between publishers and consortia are leading the way to an open access publishing future. Although these types of agreements are just beginning to be made in North America, it is expected that many universities and consortia will move in this direction in the next few years. Some characteristics of these types of agreements are included along with some of the policies, structural issues and data needs to be successful. The open access publishing program of Cambridge University Press highlights the goal of one press to change their publishing to an open access future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publish and Read mandates being promoted by the Europeans through OA2020 and Plan S, are making significant impacts on journal publishing. Although libraries in the United States have expressed concern about some elements of the proposals, larger forces have engaged which may flip the traditional subscription-based journal publishing system. Challenges and opportunities for libraries, publishers, and authors will create an unsettled market in the next few years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) that converts existing telephone lines into digital circuits which transmit data at 256Kbps to 7 Mbps. Describes ADSL, unique features of "Megabit Services" and initial deployment, costs, and impact on library services (extra bandwidth for Internet services, multimedia or other higher-bandwidth Internet services, and multiple Internet service providers to provide redundancy). (PEN)

The National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS) is an organization of over 60 publishers and online service providers. Included is a formal white paper which was released in December 1997 to clarify the rights and responsibilities of each party in the electronic information delivery process: authors, publishers, distributors, and users. (Author/AEF)

Outlines prevalent electronic information pricing models along with their strengths and weaknesses. Highlights include full-time equivalent (FTE) student counts; pure head counts; print plus fee; concurrent users; IP (information provider) classes; by transaction, connect time or retrieval; other factors, e.g., total budget and materials budget; dollar volume discounts; and state-wide or group discounts. (AEF)

Discusses problems and benefits of the electronic book and challenges in the electronic environment in terms of aggregation, pricing, authentication and authorization, presentation, downloading and printing, intellectual property, continued availability, and reliability and accessibility. Gives examples of commercial book aggregators and noncommercial book projects. (AEF)

The Dublin Core (DC) metadata standard is emerging as one of the leading initiatives in digitization programs; as libraries, museums, archives and others begin to digitize their physical materials it will be imperative that internationally recognized standards be used. Key elements behind the development of DC, and the 15 fields of DC are described. (AEF)

Discusses computer user authentication and authorization issues when libraries need to let valid users access databases and information services without making the process too difficult for either party. Common solutions are explained, including filtering, passwords, and kerberos (cryptographic authentication scheme for secure use over public computer networks); and examples of authentication and authorization processes at academic libraries are included. (LRW)

Discusses the role of the library in distance education and describes key elements of library services for distance education, including reference services; portfolio of nearby libraries or other resources; document delivery; databases; electronic journals; database of subject specialists; and electronic resources on the Web. (AEF)

The International Federation of Library Association (IFLA) announced that Dutch scientific and German special libraries adopted electronic licensing guidelines. Emphasizes consortia and the need for libraries to stick together. Discusses general principles; access and use; storage, formats and integration; services and costs; information and use; and others. (AEF)