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A Positive Response to Electronic Resources Australia

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Electronic Resources Australia (ERA) commenced its first subscription cycle on 1 October 2007, with an excellent response from the library community.

During the first month of operation, over 200 Australian libraries and consortiums across all library sectors joined together to subscribe to quality electronic resources through ERA. Subsequently, other libraries took advantage of the ‘opt in at any time’ model to join.

President of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and chair of the ERA executive committee, Roxanne Missingham, said ‘the initial response of over 900 product subscriptions under ERA was a fantastic result to build on, and by working together to provide Australians with access to quality information, libraries are making a significant contribution to the nation.’

ERA offers libraries a collaborative purchasing opportunity to provide free public access to quality online information. There are currently nine products on offer through ERA in the areas of health, general reference, and Australian news and business. Options to extend the initial product panel are now being reviewed by the ERA executive committee, who will be working closely with the library sectors as part of the process to select new products.

Subscriptions in the first cycle will run until 30 June 2008. Libraries wanting to subscribe or renew their subscriptions from 1 July 2008 will need to register their intention online at http://era.nla.gov.au/product_list/productpolls.html, between 25 March and 29 April 2008. It is essential libraries register their intent as the extent of Australian library support may influence the final subscription price.

For more information, including answers to frequently asked questions, visit the ERA website at http://era.nla.gov.au, or telephone 1800 182 937 (toll free within Australia).

Nikki Darby
Executive Officer, Electronic Resources Australia