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Press Release: Boston Library Consortium [March 1, 2023]

Consorting with the Cooperative

On February 22, 2023, the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) sent a letter to OCLC on behalf of twenty-two of its members, outlining its intent to negotiate group subscriptions that reduce costs and align pricing for OCLC products and services to standard library metrics.

BLC's engagement with OCLC's existing feedback structures and senior leadership has been ineffective to date. This letter invites OCLC to have an open and honest discussion about its pricing practices with us.

Altogether, these twenty-two member institutions spent more than $2.5 million on OCLC products and services in FY2020, representing over one percent of OCLC's subscription revenue that year. BLC has identified substantial inconsistencies in pricing paid by our members when comparing subscription costs against standard library metrics such as enrollment, number of bibliographic records, and usage.

BLC will engage in an open dialogue with OCLC throughout this negotiation to comply with our obligations to our fellow members in the OCLC cooperative. This webpage will provide information to assist other OCLC members in optimizing efficiencies through the open, honest, and candid communication that is the hallmark and mission of the OCLC cooperative.

Shared Values

Alongside nearly 30,000 libraries and consortia in more than 100 countries, BLC and our member institutions are members of the OCLC cooperative. We intend to ensure that OCLC's mission is carried out in this negotiation. In defining that mission, reference is made to the bylaws of OCLC, which express the clear objective of "reducing the rate of rise of library per-unit costs." More broadly, BLC seeks to ensure that the 'Shared Values and Membership Principles of the OCLC Cooperative' (document dated June 21, 2010) guide this negotiation, including cooperative engagement, economy of scale, open communication, and sharing, as OCLC defined those terms.

Through this open process, BLC will implement the following principles as outlined in that 2010 statement:

  • Work together to achieve mutually beneficial goals and to optimize efficiencies.
  • Share collections, metadata, best practices, and expertise.
  • Communicate honestly and openly with one another, candidly sharing opinions and respecting partners' points of view, ideas and culture.
  • Promote internationally accepted standards and follow recognized guidelines to facilitate resource sharing and information exchange.
  • Provide feedback to OCLC on products and services to improve their quality, reliability, usability and cost-benefit.
  • Enhance access to information resources, and to organize, preserve, and archive these resources for future generations.

About the Boston Library Consortium

Founded in 1970, the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) is a library consortium serving public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, state libraries, special research libraries, and public libraries in the northeastern United States. The BLC members collaborate to deliver innovative and cost-effective sharing of print and digital content, professional development initiatives, and projects across a wide range of library practice areas.

BLC Members:

  • Bentley University
  • Boston College
  • Boston Public Library
  • Boston University
  • Brandeis University
  • Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Northeastern University
  • State Library of Massachusetts
  • Tufts University
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of Hartford
  • University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  • University of Massachusetts - Boston
  • University of Massachusetts - Chan Medical School
  • University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth
  • University of Massachusetts - Lowell
  • University of New Hampshire
  • University of Rhode Island
  • University of Vermont
  • Wellesley College
  • Wesleyan University
  • Williams College

Summary: Boston Library Consortium sent a letter to OCLC on behalf of twenty-two of our members, outlining its intent to negotiate group subscriptions that reduce costs and align pricing for OCLC products and services to standard library metrics. BLC's engagement with OCLC's existing feedback structures and senior leadership has been ineffective to date. This letter invites OCLC to have an open and honest discussion about its pricing practices with the organization. Altogether, these twenty-two member institutions spent more than $2.5 million on OCLC products and services in FY2020, representing over one percent of OCLC's subscription revenue that year. BLC has identified substantial inconsistencies in pricing paid by our members when comparing subscription costs against standard library metrics such as enrollment, number of bibliographic records, and usage.
Publication Year:2023
Type of Material:Press Release
LanguageEnglish
Date Issued:March 1, 2023
Publisher:Boston Library Consortium
Company:
Company: Boston Library Consortium
Permalink: https://librarytechnology.org/pr/28564/consorting-with-the-cooperative

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