Library consortia

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Approaching library consortia can be a powerful way to generate multi-site signups and quickly gain many members. Our presses have received important financial support from consortia during our project.

That said, there are a number of aspects to bear in mind with consortial groups:

• Consortial groupings can be slow in their decision making. There are often multiple layers of committees and budgets can be set up to 12 months in advance. Hence, while the rewards can be great, the lead time for consortial participation can be lengthy.
• Consortial groups are more likely to respond to larger presses with more substantial asks. There is almost a sense that below a certain threshold, it is not worth the time/participation of the big groups. Nevertheless, we have been supported on an individual press level, so while the path to consortial funding may be more difficult and time-consuming, it is feasible. 
• Consortia can sometimes be distant from the purchasing process. Speaking directly on the ground with individual acquisitions and scholarly communications librarians can often yield more immediate direct results, although the rewards of landing a large-scale consortial group is key.
• Some library systems act as mini-consortia. The California Digital Library (CDL), for instance, acts on behalf of the California system and is an extremely important player in the US market. Nine libraries of the CDL group are subscribing members of Opening the Future at both Liverpool University Press and CEU Press.
• Some consortia have an extraordinarily large reach. The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in the US is a powerful ally who has already endorsed the Opening the Future model at the Central European University Press.
• Some libraries are members of multiple consortial groups. Avoiding overlap in pricing calculations and factoring this in during growth predictions is important.

Consortia have their own timeframes for applications, as well as different application processes. Some may be appropriate for your press. We have only had discussions with consortia in North America and Canada, which may influence our perspective. As a starting point, several US consortia are listed here on the ICOLC website.