Friends of the UNCG Libraries

The following information was provided by Assistant Dean of University Libraries Tim Bucknall : Every few years, we do a school-by-school and deal-by-deal cost avoidance calculation for the Carolina Consortium (CC).   This represents the savings as compared to what it would cost each school to receive the same journals without participating in the savings negotiated by the Consortium. I just finished the 2016 CC spreadsheet, and I'm very pleased to report that our collective annual cost avoidance is now $338,437,086. A few fun facts: - UNCG's savings is $9,577,238 from 34 ongoing CC deals (10th biggest savings out of the CC's 184 libraries) - the biggest savers are UNC Pembroke ($11M), Western Carolina ($10.9M), and UNC Asheville ($10.8M) - the biggest non-UNC system saver is Lenoir-Rhyne ($10.6M) - The 17 schools of the UNC System have 329 ongoing CC deals and save $115 million, which is 34% of all the CC savings. - Not everyone saves big. Two schools (both comm...

On May 13th, over 100 attendees visited the UNCG  campus for the annual meeting of the Carolina Consortium. The group discussed ways that libraries can save money through cooperative action, and enjoyed presentations on e-textbooks, streaming films, and effective resource sharing. Founded by and lead by UNCG librarians, the Carolina Consortium consists of nearly 150 NC and SC libraries that collectively save over $240 million a year on consortium deals. This year, the Carolina Consortium celebrates its first decade of extraordinary cost savings, and of an enormous expansion in the number of journals, databases, streaming media, and other resources available to students and faculty at community colleges, private colleges and universities, and state supported universities across the Carolinas. Text by Tim Bucknall, Assistant Dean of University Libraries, UNCG Founder and Convener - Carolina Consortium

When the talk turns to saving money, as it often does, the University Libraries at UNCG have a story to tell.   And so do their colleagues in other libraries in the area. In 2005 the University Libraries at UNCG conceived and established the Carolina Consortium to leverage the buying power of the state’s libraries to acquire access to electronic journals and databases.   Less than ten years later, the Consortium now covers North and South Carolina and includes more than 140 libraries.   “Total cost avoidance savings for the UNC system libraries alone amounted to more than $100 million last year and more than $500 million since the group was formed,” says Tim Bucknall, Convener of the Consortium and Assistant Director of the University Libraries at UNCG.   “As a result of the Consortium’s deals, the libraries in the region have better access to electronic information resources at a cost far below what it would cost each of them to acquire the resources alone.”...