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This study proposes a framework for performance measurement of library consortia services by implementing the indicators listed in ISO 11620. The framework is validated by using real data from HEAL-Link, the national consortium of Greek academic and research libraries to calculate the indicators.

The paper reports on the related work regarding the services consortia offer to their members and the known methods and tools for assessing consortia services; the HEAL-Link case study, the aggregation and handling of data, is presented; ISO 11620 performance indicators for HEAL-Link services are calculated, and the results are discussed in terms of what was learnt- about the consortium, about measuring consortia services performance, and about the standard.

ISO 11620 could be used to measure performance for assessing consortia services. The performance indicators’ results reflect the two major events (mergers and COVID pandemic) that took place during the time of the study. ISO 11620 offers a basic insight that could be well complemented with other tools and standards.

The current study suggests that a widely accepted, easily applied, benchmarking ISO standard could be used to measure common consortia services’ performance, thus contributing to consortia assessment.

Using three university library consortia China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) (China), Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) (USA) and Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) (Hong Kong) as examples, the purpose of this paper is to compare the administration of three university consortia and to explore the cultural, educational and geopolitical forces that produce and shape university library consortia.

The methodology used reviewed published and proprietary documents, interviews and observation.

While the stated objectives are similar, the three vary markedly in size, funding source, and whether programming is a bottom-up decision or emanates from the central government. CALIS was started by China ' s Ministry of Education, who also helps in setting programmatic agendas and appointing managers; GWLA came into existence through the efforts of a small group of university librarians, elect their own board and set programming in response to member needs and suggestions; JULAC, initiated by the university librarians in Hong Kong has some support from the government through bodies charged with the oversight of the universities. The differing educational systems also influence programming, for example in the relative importance member libraries place on preferential inter-library loan.

There are few comparative studies of library consortia found in Asia and the US comparative studies of consortia encourage an understanding of the benefits of different consortia models.

This paper aims to provide suggestions and predictions on library consortium development trends in China under new circumstances, as summarised from observations made of CALIS and CASHL.

From an overview and comparative analyses of the similar and different characteristics of CALIS and CASHL – two of the most influential library consortia in China – mainly on sources of funds, organisational management, cooperative collection development, collection character, resource sharing and services, this paper summarises the main advantages and disadvantages of the consortia to gain valuable insights.

Seven advantages and three disadvantages in CALIS and CASHL are summarised, and from the insights gained, the following suggestions and predictions on library consortium trends in China arise: the cost‐reducing and highly effective models of CALIS and CASHL will be promoted; uniformity and standardisation of construction will earn more respect and be realised; library consortia will develop in the digital library direction; the scope of consortia will be broadened; and different library consortia will move toward integration.

The advantages and disadvantages of the CALIS and CASHL consortia summarised by this paper, and the suggestions of this paper with regard to trends for library consortia in China provide valuable inspiration and reference for decision‐makers. Library consortium practices in China will develop and change in the directions suggested by this paper.

The comparative analysis of of the characteristics of the CALIS and CASHL consortia characteristics is original. The summary of the main advantages and disadvantages of the two consortia, together with suggestions and predictions regarding the trends for library consortia in China, provide useful references for researchers, the public and decision‐makers in China as well as other countries regarding library consortium experiences and improving and developing consortia.

The nature of logistics and supply chain management has dramatically changed as a result of new information technology. Information is now critical in supply systems and information technology has allowed companies to transform their dealings with customers and suppliers. The development of retail exchanges is stimulating further change in supply chains and buyer‐supplier relationships in the retail sector. This paper briefly considers concepts such as QR, ECR and CPFR utilised by the retail sector to promote supply‐chain efficiencies. It then goes on to explore the impact of retail exchanges and outlines progress so far. Finally, research issues arising from the retail exchanges are set in the context of research questions and propositions to further understanding of the impact of retail exchanges on supply chain management and the retail industry as a whole.

The main purpose of this paper is to describe the use of e-resources at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), those are being offered through the University Grant Commission – Information and Library Network (UGC-INFONET) consortium. Statistical techniques are applied on usage reports generated by e-resources vendors/publishers to understand trend and seasonality in usages of e-resources in academic libraries. The researchers evaluated gain in popularity of e-resources and drew a comparison in use of various databases of e-resources in terms of volume of downloads over a period of three years. The study would help in designing an instrument to evaluate utilization of e-resources. The cross comparison of databases helps in identifying e-resources, which have been optimally used.

The present study used quantitative approach to express utilization of e-resources in terms of number of downloads of full text research papers from Project Muse, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Springer Links, Taylor and Francis and JSTOR databases, accessible through the UGC-INFONET consortium. The investigation is based on secondary data of usage statistics made available by the UGC-INFONET consortium. The descriptive statistics techniques have been used in the initial phase of the investigation to understand trend in utilization of e-resources and examine robustness of various statistical tests to identify most appropriate tests for the latter phase of the investigation. The robustness analysis has been recommended for graphical and non-parametric tests for advanced investigation, in the latter phase of the study. The with-in cohort analysis techniques investigates numbers of monthly downloads from each database for a period of three years, i.e. 2008-2010 to explain seasonality in volume of downloads of e-resources.

e-Resources have been gaining popularity gradually in academic libraries; this trend is in tune with gaining of popularity of web-based intellectual resources in other sectors. The study established need of library consortium for sharing resources and subscription fee. The investigation proves significant association between numbers of downloads of e-resources from different databases in the same period; thus gain in popularity of one database encourages readers to explore other databases. The study indicates seasonality effect in the usages of e-resources in academic libraries. This seasonality effect is contemporary to the academic calendar. There are large numbers of downloads just before the examinations, which are held twice in a year and negligible number of downloads during and around long summer study breaks. Thus, the bandwidth rendered to the university is not consistently used during the academic session. The coverage of databases in terms of disciplines and numbers of journals varies to great extent. There is overlapping in the coverage of databases. The strength of students and their demands for scholarly works also vary across disciplines, thus cross comparison of numbers of downloads from databases has little meaning until impact of these three parameters are not controlled in the investigation of utilization of e-resources.

The literature shows that no study has been carried out for the use of e-resources by researchers of JNU.

R&D consortia as a new R&D cooperative form flourished in Japan, the USA, and Europe and can be regarded as a major tool for promoting industrial technological innovation and enhancing industry competitiveness. Inspired by R&D consortia in advanced countries, Taiwan and the Chinese mainland seek to develop the cooperative R&D mechanism in their own distinctive contexts. The purpose of this paper is to identify the patterns of their formation and development and to reveal the dynamics of R&D consortia (termed “public technological platforms” – PTPs) in the Chinese mainland) to give some implications for other developing countries that try to model the cooperative R&D policy for their own technology catch‐up programmes.

The paper provides an explanatory framework for analyzing how Taiwan and the Chinese mainland seek to develop R&D consortia based on comparative analysis and case study.

R&D consortia in Taiwan and PTPs in the Chinese mainland have unique structural characteristics with their common catch‐up goals and have been developing in different ways reflecting the relationships and interaction between academia, industry, and government. The effectiveness of R&D consortia is largely determined by the institutional arrangements including goal setting, organizational arrangements, and government involvement.

Further analysis of R&D consortia and PTPs would be required to form empirical studies based on the collection of more extensive data.

The key to R&D consortia/PTPs' success is how to devise institutional arrangements to ensure effective cooperation between academia, industry, and government and to implement certain technology strategies effectively.

This research contributes by identifying the differences in development of Taiwan R&D consortia and Chinese mainland PTPs and by revealing their evolutionary process.

The purpose of this paper is to share the experience of using the LibQUAL+™ library assessment suite in a statewide library consortium.

The paper provides anecdotal information about one consortium's experience implementing the LibQUAL+™ survey. It provides a description of the survey and a narrative of the Keystone Library Network's experience, and includes other information from published literature regarding the survey's implementation in other libraries and library consortia when relevant.

Implementing a library service quality survey as a consortium has benefits, but also provides challenges. Consortium‐wide planning, training, coordination, survey promotion, and intra‐consortium communication are important.

Consortia considering performing a library assessment will want to consider the challenges and considerations mentioned.

This paper provides information about, and suggestions for, implementing the survey in a consortium, differing from the existing body of literature that tends to focus on the instrument itself or on interpreting outcomes.

This paper aims to describe and analyse the interlibrary loan and document delivery (ILL/DD) in university libraries in Jiangsu Province, China, and to evaluate the service quality of one library as an example of how to improve.

This paper first describes the ILL/DD of the Jiangsu Academic Library & Information System (JALIS). It then provides an analysis of the problems in JALIS ILL/DD and gives some suggestions for improvement. Finally, it evaluates the service quality of one library’s ILL/DD based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP).

It is found that JALIS ILL/DD can be done better via small consortia and discipline centres, and that AHP can be used to evaluate the service quality of a library’s ILL/DD.

More patrons can access better service, and the work effectiveness of librarians can be improved.

This paper is helpful to librarians interested in ILL/DD or resource sharing in China.

Comparative performance measurement (CPM) is a tool that is increasingly advocated by both academics and practitioners yet its systematic implementation via consortium participation is rare. Using logistic regression and content analysis of survey results from Florida’s 297 city managers, the authors found support for performance measurement but limited belief in the utility and cost-effectiveness of CPM in their jurisdictions. Support for performance measurement as a management tool, organizational capacity, and belief in the Tiebout Hypothesis were found to be significant drivers of support for CPM. Graduate education was a significant predictor of assigning high priority to CPM, but community budget format was insignificant. These findings were consistent across both large and small cities. Respondents were skeptical regarding the benefits that might accrue to their jurisdictions relative to the time and resources needed for implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to present the Strategic Research Consortium Centre for Technological Innovation in Building and Civil Engineering (A-CITEEC) and its scientific strategy for the promotion of research and higher education in building and civil engineering.

By means of an approach based on the comparison of strategic actions with other research consortia, a scientific programme is designed following innovative research areas.

The A-CITEEC is a supra-group structure that strengthens scientific research and provides new opportunities for innovation and technology transfer at the national and international level.

The main objective of the A-CITEEC is to improve and intensify research and knowledge transfer in the fields of engineering and sustainable construction. As a direct consequence, this consortium of research groups is promoting community well-being, economic development and optimization of ecosystem services.

The A-CITEEC enhances collaborations in the national and international university community to achieve their objectives. Other remarkable activities encouraged by the consortium are the organization of scientific events, such as visits to the research centre, the promotion of the research transfer to companies and encouraging the presence of women researchers.

The achievement of the objectives and research lines by the A-CITEEC members will lead to satisfying the sustainable development goals (SDGs), priorities of the RIS3 Strategy, Spanish Strategy for Science and Technology and Innovation 2013–2020 and with the European Strategy H2020.

The scientific activities shown in this case study are intended to ensure the continuity of the group consortium, which is unique at the regional level in the field of building and civil engineering.