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MLC and INCOLSA to consolidate E-resources Group Purchasing



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

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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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