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MAKING ONLINE INFORMATION FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS
A REALITY. Issues paper. July 2005
With the support of the National Library of Australia, a reference group comprising representatives from many of the country's peak library bodies has been investigating the feasibility of creating a national, cross-sectoral libraries consortium. The principal goal of the proposed consortium is to negotiate and purchase national licences for certain key online information resources identified as being of central importance to meeting the information needs of Australians. This proposal is in accordance with Recommendation 9 of the Senate's October 2003 report on the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment. The issues paper considers the objectives and benefits of a national licensing initiative and the associated issues of governance, funding models, the type of resources that have been selected, administration, communication and ways of seeking input from Australian libraries. The paper argues that the creation of a cross-sectoral libraries consortium to negotiate and purchase national level licences is not only achievable but essential in delivering vital online information to all Australians, irrespective of their geographic location, social status, occupation or age. The social and economic benefits to the Australian Commonwealth and the community would be significant, visible and immediately realisable. Implementing a nation-wide initiative to facilitate public access to key online information resources would also significantly enhance the professional and political status of Australian libraries. In turn, this can only strengthen the social and financial standing of libraries as integral to Australia's information economy and its social infrastructure. The paper explores ways and means by which to reach these outcomes. It encourages all libraries to respond and participate, through their representative bodies, in a forthcoming National Library forum on the national licensing initiative in October 2005. The report on The Role of Libraries in the Online Environment by the The Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Reference Committee in late 2003 included: "Recommendation 9.
In response to this report the National Library has initiated discussions with all Australian library sectors to investigate the level of interest and commitment towards developing a proposal to purchase a core set of electronic resources that will be available to all Australians. At present some library sectors acquire online databases through consortia. However, many libraries are unable to participate in consortia or purchase significant electronic resources because of limited funding. A national consortium would have significant benefits in minimising duplication of effort in acquiring resources and would also enable more libraries to have access to electronic resources. In an era of the Internet and ever-expanding electronic services direct and immediate access to online information is fundamental to a well-informed, educated, economically competitive and democratic society. The National Library of Australia is committed to working with many of the peak representative organisations for Australian libraries to achieve free and equitable access to a wide range of information resources for the general community. This commitment is based on the belief that access to a variety of sources of information is now essential to the well being of Australians, regardless of their age, occupation, socio-economic status or geographic location. As a first step towards realising this goal, a National Licensing Reference Group (NLRG) was established in early 2005 to commence planning. The reference group comprises nominees from:
The national licensing initiative envisages the provision of a set of core, authoritative online information resources for the Australian community through national level licensing agreements. The resources will be available to users of libraries in all sectors, be they national, state, public, university, special or TAFE. The following sections outline the principal objectives and benefits to be gained by national licences for a range of electronic resources. In conjunction with this paper financial information to underpin this proposal is currently being sought and discussions held with selected vendors to determine the commercial feasibility of national licensing agreements. The paper also suggests a governance and administrative structure to implement and administer this national initiative. The National Licensing Reference Group has written this paper to determine the level of interest and support for the proposed national licensing initiative among the general Australian library community. Feedback will be warmly welcomed. 1. OBJECTIVES FOR A NATIONAL LICENCE The goal of the national licence is to provide all Australians with authoritative, online information resources that will contribute to the social, educational and economic well-being of the community. The licence would aim to:
2. BENEFITS OF NATIONAL LICENSING The national licence initiative offers significant potential benefits for Australians and their libraries. These are:
The national licence initiative opens the way to producing a framework for the creation of licences across different library sectors that satisfy the needs of libraries, consumers and vendors. It will facilitate the creation of mutually effective agreements between all interested parties with regard to costs, access principles, authentication and performance measurements. This initiative would promote a greater consistency in the development and application of technical and contractual criteria, and hence, improved access and authentication to electronic information across all library sectors. Implementing and maintaining a national licence will require a formal administrative structure. The reference group has examined local and overseas models for such a structure. An attractive model is the New Zealand Electronic Purchasing In Collaboration (EPIC) service, which is based on a national approach with participation by libraries in all sectors. The EPIC service :
An Australian national consortium should have a broadly similar basis, making allowance for the three tiers of government and some other differences in Australia. The reference group suggests that an Australian national consortium might have the following governance:
The Steering Committee's terms of reference might be to:
As a point of departure the Steering Committee's membership might be drawn from the peak bodies represented on the National Licensing Reference Group, together with any other library forums or associations that have substantial national membership. If this is seen as too unwieldy, then the governing committee might be limited to one nominee each from AGLIN, CAUL, NLA, ALIA, CASL, ASLA, PLA, HLA, TAFE and special libraries, with a maximum of ten members, to facilitate a managerially coherent structure. All members would have equal voting rights. To encourage the widest possible input from members, sector based advisory groups elected by their membership at large, similar to the Kinetica model, would meet periodically to furnish advice to the governing committee. Wider state-based forum meetings could also be convened as a channel to facilitate communication between the proposed consortium and individual libraries. Consideration could also be given to the formation of a consortium Standing Advisory Committee with representatives from all major library sectors and vendors. This could act as a forum for discussion on policy and purchasing negotiations more widely. One of the major roles of the consortium is to improve mutual understanding between libraries, vendors and funding authorities on each group's respective needs and concerns. It should be noted that the lack of any definite mechanism at the national level to promote regular contacts between these three key components of the information supply chain is a critical weakness in Australia. The consortium could go a long way to addressing this communication shortfall. Clearly, funding will be crucial to the success or otherwise of any national consortium. A funding model is proposed in Appendix 1. The Group recommends that four basic principles would apply:
The funding/charging model in Appendix 1, raise a number of issues, including:
Based on the discussions at the December 8 forum last year, the National Licensing Reference Group has recommended that, in the first instance, the selection and purchase of online resources ought to concentrate on a core set of full text (i.e. not bibliographic) databases. Such databases would be Australian in content and likely to command a high level of interest across library sectors and amongst their user communities. This recommendation is made in the belief that such an approach is the one most likely to attract the widest spectrum of support and may offer the best prospect of securing external funding, for at least the initial establishment phase. The decision making process for the selection of materials could be based on a group consensus model, either through the suggested governance group or a dedicated working group. The core set could then be expanded in time with an opt in / opt out model for the purchase of more sector-specific products. All considered products would undergo an extensive evaluation process. Once a consortium is created it is proposed that the most appropriate core products are identified speedily and negotiations for purchase are concluded as quickly as practicable. This is to ensure that the project maintains its momentum and that the concept becomes operational by the end of 2006. The future selection and expansion of resources will be far easier for current and potential participants to accomplish once a practical service is in place. The specific type of products suggested for the consortium in the establishment phase are:
6. ADMINISTRATION, COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING The membership of the consortium and its governance group would have to consider a range of issues in relation to the administration of resources, communication with all interested parties, marketing services to both users and funding sources, and associated budgetary matters. Much of the detail would have to be determined at a later stage; but initially the following issues need to be taken into account:
This paper has been prepared to provide information on a proposed Australian national licence for a set of electronic resources for all Australians. The paper presents the reasons, the requirements and the benefits of a national consortium for providing access to online information resources for the Australian community and for organisations, governments and libraries of all disciplines. It does not seek to impose a single approach to reaching this goal, merely to stimulate debate on the whys and hows to achieve that goal. The National Licensing Reference Group now seeks your input and feedback to determine:
Comments can be made through a web form at http://www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/sitelicense/comments.html or by email to caslconsortium@nla.gov.au. If you wish to discuss this with a member of the working group please contact them directly - members are listed in appendix 2. 8. FURTHER NATIONAL DISCUSSION The National Library will be holding a second forum on national licences on 12 October 2005 to which all representative bodies will be invited. The forum will consider:
Appendix One: Suggested funding model for an Australian Licence The principles for the funding model for the Australian National Licence are:
The financial mode proposed offers a set of cost bands based on the size of the library, measured by a sector specific indicator. The costs bands were developed in consultation with library sectors.
Appendix Two: Membership and terms of reference of the National Licensing Reference Group as at June 2005 Terms of Reference
Members of the Reference Group Convenor ALIA representative ASLA representative CASL representative CAUL representatives Health Libraries Australia representative NLA representative Public Libraries Australia representatives Viclink/Gulliver representative Appendix Three: Recommended background readings on national licensing.
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