Frequently Asked Questions about the NLP
Where did the idea for a national consortium for Australia come from?
Some other countries have national licensing of some electronic products (eg New Zealand and Iceland). When the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Committee enquired into the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment in 2002-03, one of the recommendations was that there be national licensing of selected resources. The government did not agree that it should provide funding for such an initiative. The National Library of Australia convened a meeting in 2004 to see if there might be another way of making progress. The National Library is facilitating the process, but the Australian library community is involved through the National Licensing Forum, and without general library support the initiative will not be implemented.
What would be the benefits of a national consortium in Australia?
While some libraries already have access to a range of resources, many others do not, because they cannot afford to subscribe, and many of these believe their users are disadvantaged. The goal of a national consortium is to negotiate and purchase licences for key information resources identified as being of importance in meeting the information needs of Australians. The 2005 issues paper includes a section on the benefits of a national licence. An additional benefit, identified at the October 2005 meeting, was that libraries providing virtual reference services such as AskNow! will find it much easier to refer users to electronic resources, a difficult task at present when many users can't access the resources.
How will the proposed consortium affect existing consortia in Australia?
The proposed consortium will not replace existing library consortia, and will work very closely with most of the existing consortia. The broad range of needs of Australian libraries means there will always be specialised resources that a national consortium would not consider purchasing. Existing consortia will be able to subscribe to resources through the national consortium, in the same way that some library consortia currently subscribe to Libraries Australia on behalf of their members, and this will be the preferred model of operation.
Why not create just a school and/or public library consortium?
There are many libraries in other sectors who will benefit from national licensing of electronic resources. The higher the number of libraries involved, the better the chances of achieving a good result for all.
How can I be sure my views will be represented on the consortium management group?
A governance framework has been developed. The need to ensure adequate representation must be balanced by the need to have a manageable governance group, and as with Libraries Australia, a mechanism that combines elected and appointed representatives from various sectors has been proposed.
See also: FAQS about the Governance Framework
What will the governance group do?
The governance group will be responsible for the ongoing operation of the consortium, with administrative assistance from the National Library of Australia. One of the responsibilities of the group will be to develop a review and evaluation timetable, to ensure appropriate re-examination of the operations of the consortium after a period of time.
See also: FAQs about the Governance Framework
What will the administration costs be?
For the first two years, the National Library of Australia will bear the administration costs for the National Licensing Proposal.
Will university libraries be subsidising the other sectors?
Absolutely not! There has never been any intention to work via cross subsidy of sectors. The only library which will pay higher costs is the National Library of Australia, through its subsidy of the administration costs.
Can you provide more information about what it will cost my library?
Through the 2006-7 tender process, vendors were asked to provide pricing for their proposed e-resoures, per sector. It is our intention that libraries will pay no more (and preferably less) than they currently do for their annual subscriptions to the listed e-resources and that the pricing will make these resources more attractive to those libraries who cannot currently afford to subscribe.
Will it be affordable for very small libraries?
The aim is to ensure that even the very smallest library will be able to subscribe to a core set of resources. The very rough estimates to date indicate that some key resources will be very affordable for small libraries, but we cannot predict what pricing will be provided by vendors in their tender responses.
Why isn't the Government paying for this?
The relevant section in the Senate Report on the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment did recommend the National Library of Australia be funded to pursue national licensing, but the Government's response to the report made it quite clear that no funding would be provided.
Read the Report, and the Government's response.
How will the products be selected?
While there is a huge range of electronic resources available, finding products with wide general appeal will not be easy. The 2004 National Licencing Forum and 2005 survey of Australian libraries suggested products in three categories: 'Australian News & Busienss Information', 'General Reference' and 'Health Information'. These three categories were included in the Request For Tender (RFT) issued in August 2006.
Will all the products be Australian?
While some products may be Australian, this will not be an absolute requirement, however, and emphasis was placed on Australian content in the RFT. In some areas, such as health, "only Australian" may not be the best solution.
What about the possible effects on vendors?
Vendors have been interested and open to discussion. The tender process has sought the best value for money for the types of products identified for licensing. Achieving a balance between the need for vendors to maintain acceptable financial results and the need for a national consortium to offer products at a price low enough to attract small libraries for whom such products would otherwise always be unaffordable will be tricky.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted the National Library authroisation to proceed with the tender process. Vendors not selected in the tender process will still be able to market their products, and other consortia and individual libraries will still purchase those products. There will be regular market testing to ensure licences are delivering value for money.
Will users be able to access these resources from home?
The 2005 Forum expressed a very clear requirement that library users must be able to access the resources from any location, and at any time which is convenient for them. Remote access was a statement requirement within the NLP RFT document.
What about those libraries who don't have adequate computing, communications or technical support services?
The national consortium will not be directly involved in assisting with computing, telecommunications or technical support. There is some evidence that if resources are available, this will provide librarians with a useful lobbying angle when they seek upgrading of their local infrastructure.
Will there be any training provided?
In selecting products by open tender, the availability of training and other support from vendors will be taken into account. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has also indicated that it may be able to assist in the development of training, and there are a number of commercial training providers who may be interested in developing training resources or programs.
What's the next step?
Significant progress has been made since the first National Licensing Forum in 2004. Evaluation of the RFT for Australian Library Access to Electronic Resources is nearing completion and it is anticipated that the initiative will be launched in Australian Library Week, 21-27 May 2007.
Who can I talk to about this?
Key people at this stage are the participants in the National Licensing Proposal Reference Group. General comments or questions from any part of the Australian library sector can also be sent to nlp@nla.gov.au.
