Consortia Initiatives in Higher Education Libraries in India: A Reconnaissance of the National Landscape

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the activities of various library consortia functioning across India. A questionnaire was used to collect information for the present study from Indian consortia and their web sites were also visited to collect data. The study ascertains that consortia approaches help libraries financially and save money through collective access to databases and e-resources as opposed to individual subscriptions. It also suggests that different consortia can be merged to form a single one across a country and provide services to the users. The analysis has been done on the basis of approximate subscription prices conveyed by vendors through oral communications. The chapter highlights how libraries can function in consortia mode to enhance their services to users in the face of dwindling budgets and spiraling costs of scholarly journals and databases. The chapter analyzes and demonstrates that consortia agreements can lead to more judicious expenditure by libraries and suggests areas for further research to gain deeper insights into the activities and functioning of various consortia. It also makes suggestions about formation of a nation-wide collaboration to maximize savings and avoid overlapping access through a number of consortia.

Citation

Tripathi, M. (2013), "Consortia Initiatives in Higher Education Libraries in India: A Reconnaissance of the National Landscape", Woodsworth, A. and Penniman, W.D. (Ed.) Mergers and Alliances: The Wider View (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 36), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 107-136. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-2830(2013)0000036008