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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

ACCESS OF E-RESOURCES THROUGH CONSORTIUM

Sudha Kaushik1, Somvir2 & Ranjana3
1
Librarian, PDM College of Engineering, Bahadurgarh (Haryana)- India
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
2
Asst. Librarian, CBS Group of Institutions, Jhajjar (Haryana)- India
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
3
Library Assistant, PDM College of Engineering, Bahadurgarh (Haryana)- India
Email: [email protected]

Abstract: Cooperation and sharing have been transformed by information technology and the move from a
print to a digital environment. The e-resources have become the fastest as well as largest growing areas of
the digital collection for the libraries. Due to static budget libraries are facing a lot of problems. E-
subscription is one of the emerging tool kit for libraries to survive in the present circumstances. The
accessibility to e-resources in higher educational institutions has improved with setting-up of library
consortium. In this paper author focuses on the concept, use, types and objectives of the e-resource and
consortium. UGC-INFONET and INDEST-AICTE consortium are two major initiatives for Indian
academic libraries. The paper also highlights the status of library consortium in Indian scenario and open
access journals.

Keywords: E-resources, Digital Collection, Library Consortia, Open Access journals

1. Introduction: The World Wide Web and internet have become inevitable media
to deliver or access the wide variety of information for its users. All types of information
are made available on internet for subscription of e-resources and facilitate sharing of e-
resources.
This new way to consolidate global resources amongst the libraries for maximization of
their limited financial resources was thought by Ministry of human resource &
development and is being followed by everyone everywhere in the world was thought by
Ministry of human resource & development. The main methods of resource sharing are:
1. Inter library loan
2. Document Delivery
3. Institutional Membership
4. Consortia

Consortiums are becoming the main platform for resource sharing and thus increase
scientific productivity of member institutions in terms of quality and quantity. These are
formed at the local, regional and international levels and may be grouped around subject
or function. These are now being overheard everywhere because of electronic or digital
form of information. In the West, Consortia is a thing of the past, where there were
models for print journal subscriptions, co-operative resource sharing, etc.
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

2. E-resources: -E-Resource is an electronic information resource that we can access

on the web, on or off campus. This requires computer access or any electronic product
that delivers a collection of data, be it text referring to full text bases, electronic journals,
image collections, other multimedia products which are numerical, graphical or time
based and are commercially available titles that has been published with an aim of being
marketed as an electronic resource. These may be delivered on CD ROM, on tape, via
internet and many other ways. The e-resources may be e-journals, e-books, databases,
websites, CD ROM and other portable computer databases. The main advantage of e-
resources is the cost saving in printing and paper as well as data storage, maintenance,
and transmission.

2.1 Types of e-resources: The main types of e-resources are given below.
o E-Journals: E-Journals are electronic issues of publications, ranging from articles to
periodicals.
o E-Books: An e-book is the electronic version of a book covering its full contents
(text, tables, diagrams, illustrations, etc.) The collection is usually set up in an e-
database, which supports full-text searching within and across titles, advanced
search and bookmark functions. Users can view text of e-books in HTML or PDF
format online.
o Online Databases: A database is a collection of information categorized by
specific fields. Databases are usually searchable by keywords topics. An e-
database is an organized collection of information, of a particular subject or multi-
disciplinary subject areas. The information of an e-database can be searched and
retrieved electronically.
o Websites
o CD-ROM: CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible
to, but not writable.
o Diskettes
o Other portable computer databases

2.2 Uses of e-resources - Many of the online resources require usernames and
passwords to access them, especially when accessing them off campus. Some e-resources
can be accessed on specific IP addresses to use in whole campus without any barrier.
Resources allow the user to approach the publications to analyze its content in new ways
by mouse clicking on search mode.

3. Consortium: According to Oxford English Dictionary “Consortium means

temporary cooperation of a number of powers, companies etc. for a common purpose. It is
an association of similar type of organization / institution who are engaged for producing
and servicing the common things / for providing services for a specific purpose of its
users.” Library consortium is a group of two or more libraries which have agreed to co-
operate with one another in order to fulfill certain similar needs, usually resource sharing.
It usually, refers to co-operation, Co-ordination and collaboration between, and amongst
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

libraries for the purpose of sharing information. Consortia are basically, evolving a form
of cooperation among the libraries which come together to share resources electronically.
The consortium facilitated the libraries to get the benefit of wider access to electronic
resources at affordable cost and the terms of licenses.

3.1 Objectives of Consortium: The major objectives of library consortium are as

follows.
1. To eliminate the different problems faced by the libraries to provide various
services to the users.
2. To meet the thrust of information of the vast people due to rapid growth of
population all over the world.
3. Act as a medium for collaboration among teachers and students, all over the
world.
4. To reduce the information cost and avoid the duplication.
5. To cope up with the newly generated knowledge published in different forms,
such as, printed and non- printed documents, electronic media on various
disciplines, multidisciplinary and new generated subject areas.

3.2 Types of Consortium:

1. Open Consortium: These consortiums provide the facility for the participating
libraries to join and leave according to their interest. INDEST consortium is a type
of open consortium.
2. Close group Consortium: These consortiums emerge by a bond of homogeneity.
CSIR and IIM are working as close group consortium.
3. Centrally funded Model: These consortiums depend on the central funding
agency. UGC INFONET and ICMR are the central funding model consortiums.
4. Shared Budget Modal: These are alternative consortiums. There is no role of
funding agency. IIM and FORSA are examples of this model.
5. National Consortium: These are UGC INFONET and INDEST.

3.3 Advantages of Library Consortia

A consortium is the most idealist way to satisfy the users’ requirements. Its advantages
are manifold, which are:
o Avoidance of unnecessary duplication of information resources and their
processing and maintenance cost
o Enhanced library services
o Greater access availability of information resources (24x7)
o Helps in digital preservation of e-resources and archival access
o Rational utilization of fund and technical equipments.
o Reduction in all round cost.

4. Library Consortium in Indian Scenario:

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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

Consortia are basically, evolving a form of cooperation among the libraries which come
together to share resources electronically. It has gained momentum even in developing
countries like India. There are many consortiums being run successfully by different
organizations in India. Some of them are:

4.1 IIM Consortium: To facilitate optimum utilization of information resources,

enhancement of information resources and to minimize the expenditure among
the IIMs, Indian Institutes of Management consortium was established in 2000.
4.2 CSIR E-Journals Consortium: This was set up in 2001 but its operations started
in June 2002. This is managed by NISCAIR, New Delhi.
4.3 CERA (Consortium for e-resources in Agriculture): It was established in April
2008 at Indian Agriculture Research Institute under National Agriculture
Innovation Project (NAIP).
4.4 DELCON (DBT’s Electronics Library Consortium): It is coordinated by
National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) and launched by the Department of
Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India in January
2009.
4.5 FORSA: Forum for Resources Sharing in Astronomy and Astrophysics was
established in 1981 to share E-journals, e-books, databases holdings of member
libraries of the consortium. http://www.iiap.res.in/library/forsa.html
4.6 MCIT Libraries Consortium: It was setup for the resource sharing among the
libraries of the different departments of Ministry of Communication and
Information Technology. There are Department of Information Technology,
Department of Telecommunication and Department of Post.
4.7 ICMR E- Consortia: It was established in 2007 by Indian Council of Medical
Research. http://www.jccc-icmr.informindia.co.in/about.asp
4.8 ERMED Consortium: In the field of medicine the Electronic Resources in
Medicine Consortium is started by the Director General of Health Services
4.9 Health Sciences Library Information Networks: HELINET Consortium is
launched in March 2003. http://www.rguhs.ac.in/hn/newhell.html
4.10 DRDO E-Journals Consortium: It is established in January 2009.
4.11 Inter University Centers (IUC-DAEF Consortia) in the filed of Atomic Energy
http://brahma.iuc.res.in/-iuc_cc/iuc_loc.html

Apart from the mentioned consortia, there have been efforts to setup similar kind of
consortia by ICAR, ICMR, ICSSR and other governmental agencies to provide and access
to e-resources. Among the above all consortia, UGC-INFONET and INDEST–AICTE
Consortium are proving to be a boon for the academic users. These two major initiatives
have come to the rescue of academic libraries so that they can cater to the needs of
academic depending upon them. These revolutionary steps are providing scholarly
resources including peer reviewed journals, databases, abstracts, proceedings etc. These
efforts will definitely boost the higher education system of our country.
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

4.12 INDEST- AICTE Consortium

The “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Sciences and Technology (INDEST)
Consortium” was set-up in 2002 by The Ministry of Human Resources Development
(MHRD). 38 centrally funded Govt. institutions including IITs, Sc, NITs and some other
institutions are the core members of the INDESTAICTE Consortium. The Ministry
provides funds required for providing access to electronic resources to the core members
through the consortium headquarters set-up at the IIT Delhi. The total no. of members
through the consortium has now grown to 483 (including 38 IITs, IISc, NITs and other
institutes; 63 members from AICTE; 99 self supported Engineering colleges and institutes
and 285 institutions have recently joined under the new scheme). The consortium
subscribes to over 6500 electronic journals from a number of publishers and aggregators.

E-resources available through the INDEST-AICTE Consortium:

The INDEST-AICTE consortium subscribes to the following resources for various
categories of institutions. All electronic resources subscribed are available from the
publisher's Web site.

Full Text e-resources Web sites

ABI / Inform Complete http://www.il.proquest.com/pqdauto
ACM Digital Library http://portal.acm.org/portal.cfm
ASCE Journals http://scitation.aip.org/publications/myBrowsePub.jsp
ASME Journals http://scitation.aip.org/publications/myBrowsePub.jsp
ASTM Standards & Digital Standards: http://enterprise.astm.org
Library Journals: http://journalsip.astm.org/
Capitaline http://www.capitaline.com/intranet/INDEST_consorti
um.htm
CRIS INFAC Ind. Information http://www.crisil.com/
McGraw-Hill's Access http://www.accessengineeringlibrary.com/
Engineering (FKA DEL)
EBSCO Databases http://search.epnet.com/
Elsevier's Science Direct http://www.sciencedirect.com/
Emerald Full-text http://www.emeraldinsight.com/
Emerald Management Xtra http://www.emeraldinsight.com/
Engineering Science Data Unit http://www.esdu.com/
(ESDU)
Euromonitor (GMID) http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/portal/server.pt
IEEE / IEE Electronic Library http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
Online (IEL)
Indian Standards Intranet Version
INSIGHT http://www.insight.asiancerc.com/
Nature http://www.nature.com/
ProQuest Science ( formerly http://www.il.proquest.com/pqdauto
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

ASTP )
Springer Link http://www.springerlink.com/
IET Digital Library http://www.ietdl.org/
Emerald E-books (Business http://www.emeraldinsight.com/
Mgmt & Economics Collection)
INFORMS Pub suite http://journals.informs.org/
GALE Gale Cengage Learning, http://lr.cengage.co.in/
(IEC, BCRC and GREENR)
ICE Publishing(Thomas http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/
Telford)Journals

4.13 UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium:

The UGC-INFONET Digital Library Consortium was formally launched in December,
2003. The Consortium provides current as well as archival access to more than 4500 core
and peer-reviewed journals and nine bibliographic databases from 23 publishers and
aggregators in different disciplines. The programme has been implemented in phased
manner. In the first phase that started in 2004, access to e-resources was provided to 50
universities who had Internet connectivity under the UGC-INFONET Connectivity
programme of the UGC. In the second phase, 50 more universities were added to the
programme in the year 2005. So far 120 Universities out of 171 that come under the
purview of UGC have been provided differential access to subscribed e-resources. These
e-resources covers almost all subject disciplines including arts, humanities, social
sciences, physical sciences, chemical Sciences, life sciences, computer sciences,
mathematics and statistics, etc. The programme is wholly funded by the UGC and
executed by the INFLIBNET (Information and Library Network) Centre, Ahmedabad.
UGC-INFONET is an ambitious programme of UGC to interlink all the Universities in
the country with state-of-art technology. The Network is being switched to BSNL
backbone w.e.f 1st April 2010 and renamed as UGC INFONET 2.0. on the new scheme
10 Mbps(1:1) Leased line is being established in 180 plus universities preferably by using
Fiber to provide Internet Services. INFLIBNET is responsible for executing and
monitoring the entire project. The UGC-INFONET mainly provides Internet bandwidth, a
pre-requisite for delivery of scholarly content subscribed through the UGC-INFONET
Digital Library Consortium. The scheme has now been extended to 200 Universities and 6
Inter-University Centers of the UGC.

E-resources made available by UGC INFONET consortium are:

Full Text e-resources Web sites

American Chemical Society (ACS) http://pubs.acs.org/about_category.html
American Institute of Physics (AIP) http://www.aip.org
American Physical Society (APS) http://www.aps.org
Annual Reviews http:/arjournals.annualreviews.org
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

Institute of Physics (IOP) http://www.iop.org

Cambridge University Press Journals http://journals.cambridge.org
JSTOR http://www.jstor.org
Science Online http://www.sciencemag.org/
SciFinder Scholar http://www.aip.org
Encyclopedia Britannica http://searcheb.com
Project muse Journals http:muse.jhu.edu/journals/
Royal Society of Chemistry http://www.rsc.org/is/journals/jl/htm

5. Consideration needed to form Consortium

The following issues need to consider before building the consortia:

1. Technology infrastructure
2. Resources identification
3. Budget and funding
4. Pricing issues
5. Subscription payment issues
6. Access related issues
7. Licensing and copyright issues
8. Archival issues
9. Usages and usability issues
10. Coordination among partners
11. Availability of efficient staff
12. Overcoming political objections
13. The egos of individuals and institutions
14. Adequate professional training on ICT for the LIS professionals
15. Sustainability issues

6. Conclusion:
In a developing country like India, libraries are facing challenges due to budget cut,
reduced staff and escalation in cost of publication. Due to these factors, academic libraries
are finding it difficult to buy required number of books and periodicals, which has
resulted into the adverse impact on the research and development programmes. In India
libraries have developed many schemes to make optimum use of library resources and to
provide access to increased amounts of information resources through consortia.
Realizing the importance of library consortia activities, a number of participating libraries
in India are increasing day by day. The effort of UGC-INFONET and INDEST–AICTE
Consortium are appreciable and will definitely strengthen higher education system in
India free and or highly subsidized access to scholarly e-resources will help educational
institutions in fulfill their mission in to reality. In the long run consortia approach will be
much more popular in user community and that day is not so far behind when consortia
approach will expand the country’s information base. We suggest that, the professionals
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International Conference on “Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museum”-Conference Proceedings- 15-17 February2011. (pp. 629-634)

have to conduct more awareness program to market the new on- line services at their
institutions to ensure effective utilization of subscribed e-resources.

7. References:

1. Biswas, B.C., & Dasgupta, S. K. (2003). Opportunities for libraries in managing

and resource sharing through consortia: A new challenge for Indian Librarians.
Papers presented at International Convention on Mapping Technology on
Libraries and People. CALIBER-2003, Ahmedabad, India.
2. Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Sciences and Technology
(INDEST) Consortium. Available: http://paniit.iitd.ac.in/indest/
3. Kumar, Bharat. (2006) INDEST Consortium: Revolutionizing Academic Libraries
in India. University News. 44 (31), Jul 31- Aug 06, 2006, 13-21.
4. Mounissamy, P. and Kaliammal, A. Access of E-Journals in the Institutions of
Higher Technical Education through INDEST Consortium. University News,
43(07), February 14-20, 2005, 8-11.
5. IKEM, J.E. and Nwalo, K.I.N. (2002). Prospects for resource sharing among
university libraries in Nigeria: an empirical analysis in proceedings of SCAULWA
2001 Conference, Gimpa, Accra, Ghana. Pp.21-48.
6. Government of India. Ministry of Human Resource and Development. Committee
of Experts on Consortia-based Subscription to Electronic Resources for Technical
Education System in India. New Delhi: MHRD, 2002. P. 9 - 10.
7. http://www.inflibnet.ac.in/infonet
8. Saxena, S.C. 2010. E-Journals Consortia in India with Particular Reference to
DRDO e-Journals Consrtium. Conference proceedings on Emerging Technologies
and Chanign Dimensions of Libraries and Information Services. Solan (HP), p.64-
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