The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information

This article outlines the circumstances that led to the formation in the Spring of 1997 of the National Research Library Alliance (NRLA), a consortium of federal libraries. It discusses some of the issues that face organizations when they attempt to act collectively and the need for vendors and lib...

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Main Authors: Laurie E. Stackpole, Roderick D. Atkinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Alberta Library 1998-05-01
Series:Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
Online Access:https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1418
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author Laurie E. Stackpole
Roderick D. Atkinson
author_facet Laurie E. Stackpole
Roderick D. Atkinson
author_sort Laurie E. Stackpole
collection DOAJ
description This article outlines the circumstances that led to the formation in the Spring of 1997 of the National Research Library Alliance (NRLA), a consortium of federal libraries. It discusses some of the issues that face organizations when they attempt to act collectively and the need for vendors and libraries to work cooperatively to solve the inherent problems associated with a consortium model. The NRLA's first joint procurement, a license to mount one of the Institute of Scientific Information's "Web of Science" databases, was finalized in July 1997. This procurement, which provides some 5,000 researchers at four institutions with web access to Science Citation Index Expanded, is used throughout the article to illustrate some typical problems that arise when diverse institutions attempt to work in unison, as well as to illustrate the benefits that result from forming partnerships to license critical information resources.
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spelling doaj-art-e86d2d6d1a27426ca5792ec5996945882025-08-20T03:09:17ZengUniversity of Alberta LibraryIssues in Science and Technology Librarianship1092-12061998-05-011810.29173/istl1418The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific InformationLaurie E. Stackpole0Roderick D. Atkinson1Ruth H. Hooker Research Library, Naval Research LaboratoryRuth H. Hooker Research Library, Naval Research Laboratory This article outlines the circumstances that led to the formation in the Spring of 1997 of the National Research Library Alliance (NRLA), a consortium of federal libraries. It discusses some of the issues that face organizations when they attempt to act collectively and the need for vendors and libraries to work cooperatively to solve the inherent problems associated with a consortium model. The NRLA's first joint procurement, a license to mount one of the Institute of Scientific Information's "Web of Science" databases, was finalized in July 1997. This procurement, which provides some 5,000 researchers at four institutions with web access to Science Citation Index Expanded, is used throughout the article to illustrate some typical problems that arise when diverse institutions attempt to work in unison, as well as to illustrate the benefits that result from forming partnerships to license critical information resources. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1418
spellingShingle Laurie E. Stackpole
Roderick D. Atkinson
The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship
title The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
title_full The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
title_fullStr The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
title_full_unstemmed The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
title_short The National Research Library Alliance: A Federal Consortium Formed to Provide Inter-Agency Access to Scientific Information
title_sort national research library alliance a federal consortium formed to provide inter agency access to scientific information
url https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/istl/index.php/istl/article/view/1418
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