Cross-institutional instruction and access

["Neyer, Linda S" <lneyer@bloomu.edu>]

I can think of no better place to go to than this list for advice. The 
advice I'm seeking concerns cross-institutional instruction and its 
implications for library resources, especially how "authorized users" are 
defined in this kind of situation.

Here's the situation: I've been asked for help by a dept. head at my 
institution (as their liaison). His dept. offers a professional doctoral 
degree and has made arrangements with a nearby medical college (about 1 
=BD hours away) for our 1st and 2nd year students to be taught several 
courses by medical college professors (via distance, using our 
courseware). During their 3rd and 4th years, our students will complete 
on-site internships at the hospital affiliated with the medical college 
and as 'employees' will have online access to the library's resources, 
including their electronic journals and databases. The dept. head wants to 
ensure that our 1st and 2nd year students will have the same online access 
to the medical college library's resources in order to complete their 
coursework. The dept. head (who is asking me as library liaison for 
advice) told me his department has signed one articulation agreement with 
the medical college and has another one pending (I don't know the 
particulars about the agreements). I spoke with the medical college 
library director by phone who confirmed that whether or not our students 
can get access entirely depends upon whether our students are defined as 
"authorized users" of the medical college library.

I've relayed this info to the dept. head, suggesting that he request 
language be added to the articulation agreement defining our students as 
'authorized users of the medical college library' by virtue of their 
cross-institutional instruction, and have also advised him that his dept. 
should be prepared to pay additional money to the medical college library 
to cover any increases in their electronic subscriptions (the total number 
of students will be at most 30 a year).

My question is this: if anyone on this list has experience with so-called 
"inter-institutional" or "cross-institutional" programs (like the joint 
audiology doctoral degree program of Kent State Univ. and Univ. of Akron), 
could you please share your experience with regard to electronic journal 
and database access? Specifically, could you please share the language 
that is used in your licensing agreements?

I appreciate any insight from members of this list as to other issues of 
which the dept. chair should be aware. If you prefer to contact me 
off-list, please do so.

Many thanks in advance,

Linda
--

Linda Neyer
Reference Librarian
Health Science/Sciences Specialist
Harvey A. Andruss Library
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
400 East Second St.
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
ph. 570-389-4801
fax 570-389-5066