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Series of Reports 

Dear Liblicense-l Readers:

The next five messages from me will contain short reports of the vendor
presentations from the COC3 meeting in Atlanta, GA (or rather, Peachtree
City, nearby). As many of you probably know, the COC (or Consortium of
Consortia as it was called until a week ago) is an informal irregular
gathering of library consortial directors, coordinators, and
representatives.  These individuals assemble from time to time to hear
about newer electronic databases, journals, and other products from
vendors, as well as to share information on consortial goals, missions,
standards, and related matters. 

Vendors and publishers whose wares are of "hot" interest are chosen
through informal polling and invited to talk, not so much about their
products as about the arrangements for licensing by consortia (primarily
though not exclusively academic) of libraries.  In the last meeting, the
vendors were:  Center for Research Libraries (who are experimenting
interestingly with consortial membership arrangements -- but are not
offering electronic services, so their presentation is not summarized
here);  Electric Library, an energetic new general reference tool; 
ABC-CLIO (America: History & Life, and Historical Abstracts); the American
Chemical Society Journals; Chemical Abstracts' SciFinder Scholar;  and the
CIS UNIVERSE line of products (with particular emphasis on the former
Lexis-Nexis UNIVERSE resource). 

Highlights of the meeting included:  descriptions of the long-awaited
ABC-CLIO web services; a most welcome Interlibrary Loan provision clause
from ACS journals; an interesting foray by CAS into consortial
relationships;  and transitional (and perhaps a little vexing price-wise) 
terms from Lexis-Nexis/CIS for its web line of products (UNIVERSE).

At the Atlanta sessions, the COC, which has no particular structure or
formal identity and meets at the will of self-organizing consortial
leaders and members, nonethless decided to adjust its name to ICOLC, the
International Coalition of Library Consortia, because its informal
discussions are growing to include various library consortial groups from
outside North America:  Australia, the UK, and Europe. 

I hope you will find these informal reports to be of some interest.

Ann Okerson
Associate University Librarian
Yale University
Moderator, Libicense-l


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