Frequently Asked Questions - Library Consortium Management FAQ's

A library consortium is a group of libraries working together to achieve common goals. In a consortium, libraries can accomplish more than they can on their own. Consortium membership can include  libraries of a single type or of different types and sizes, and the consortium may be local, regional or national in scope.

The benefits the consortium provides will depend upon the specific programmes and services that the consortium chooses to offer. Typical benefits include:

• Reductions in costs through group purchasing (e.g. of electronic resources).
• Joint advocacy, marketing and fundraising for libraries.
• Improving the capacity and expertise of library staff by providing professional development for consortium members. 
• Encouraging the sharing of resources among consortium members (including content, technology, expertise and funding).
• Undertaking special initiatives of importance to the members of the group, such as digitization, technology implementation, information sharing, or creation of a union catalogue.

The members of a consortium are libraries as organizations. The members of library associations in most countries are people.

By partnering with library consortia EIFL can reach many libraries and accommodate their needs.

Through our network of library consortia, we can lower the financial barriers and increase access to electronic information; enhance the professional growth of librarians; increase the capacity of libraries to employ technology effectively; expand knowledge about emerging trends in information and technology; accelerate the ability to advocate for effective intellectual property laws, and expand access to and visibility of locally created content held in open access repositories.

EIFL works with library consortia in developing and transition economy countries. 

EIFL partners with just one library consortium per country. If there is more than one library consortium in the country, they should come together in an umbrella consortium. 

EIFL partners with library consortia from developing and transition economy countries.

The benefits of joining EIFL are:

• Access to a wide range of commercial e-resources at greatly reduced or no cost.
• When publishing in open access, authors in EIFL partner countries may be eligible for waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) negotiated by EIFL.
• Context specific expert advice and support in areas such as copyright, open science, licensing and public library development.
• Access to communities of experts on Diamond open access publishing,
• open access repository set-up and management, and open science training.
• Opportunities to participate in international and national copyright law reform processes and open science policy development.
• Professional development – training and resources – in important library areas including e-resource negotiations and licensing, open access, open science, copyright and digital information literacy.
•  Enhancement of professional knowledge and sharing best practices about emerging trends in scholarly communications and technology.
• Gain access to up-to-date information and specialized resources via EIFL’s mailing lists and members’ only website.
• Raise the visibility of your institution and its work by becoming part of a global network.
• Invitation to attend the EIFL General Assembly, an annual learning and knowledge sharing event.

Please contact us for more information at info [at] eifl.net.

Partner consortia pay an annual fee for participation in EIFL. This fee is calculated according to the country’s GNI (Gross National Income) per capita. There is a minimum annual participation fee of €800 and a maximum of  €7200 (subject to change based on inflation factor).

Yes. If a group of libraries in a developing or transition economy country is in the process of forming a consortium and is seeking EIFL’s assistance, the group can provisionally become a partner prior to the establishment of the consortium. This entails the commitment of both parties: EIFL will provide all services that are available to fully-formed library consortia; the consortium that is still being formed must within one year make significant progress towards the establishment of an operational consortium.

No. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to work with individual libraries. Check EIFL’s website: Our network, to see if you country has a library consortium that is an EIFL partner, and get in touch with the consortium to discuss membership.

If there is no library consortium in your country (EIFL partners with library consortia from developing and transition economy countries) and your institution is willing to take the lead in organizing one, please get in touch with us at info [at] eifl.net.