eIFL.net consortium building program

Libraries in many countries in transition are under funded to meet even basic needs, and many countries have inadequate information access to support their economic development. Open access to information is a political issue in many transitional countries. Equally, cohesive and central library leadership is not uniformly present in all countries.

As publishers and information providers consolidate and merge, there is a trend towards less competition leading to higher prices for libraries. Economic models for purchasing electronic information are in a state of transition. eIFL.net, the consortium of library consortia in countries in economic transition, has acquired significant negotiating power. National library consortia therefore benefit from considerable savings achieved through eIFL activities such as joint licensing, the sharing of resources and financial commitments and empowerment to speak with one voice on issues concerning policies, structures and services.

One of the core activities of eIFL.net is outreach to and encouragement of national library communities to share resources and attain a stronger position in the national information framework by forming a consortium. Now with a growing number of participating countries, progress on the development of eIFL.net consortia spans several different stages, which we have classified into three main groups:

• 1. the early or formative stage;
• 2. the transitional stage;
• 3. the advanced stage.

The formation, sustained development and management of eIFL.net library consortia is supported in a number of ways:

• assisting professionally and financially with the convening of the main players and the organization of national consortium building workshops, building in-country capacity and consortium infrastructure;
• offering small start-up grants to set up and manage consortia and making available access to relevant electronic resources;
• providing expertise and consultancy through individual country visits, tailor-made to the specific needs and challenges of a particular consortium;
• providing extensive resources on consortium building through the eIFL.net website;
• enabling knowledge-sharing and learning opportunities for the eIFL.net global network of consortium coordinators.