CRL and the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering, and Technology have entered into a strategic partnership to preserve and develop historical research collections in the fields of science, technology and engineering. The partnership will build upon the rich holdings of print serials in those fields assembled by the two institutions during the past six decades. Together, these two collections constitute a premier library of global science. CRL and Linda Hall will now combine human, technical, and financial resources to further develop these collections, actively promote their visibility and use, and preserve them for future generations of scholars and researchers.
The combined CRL and Linda Hall STE print serials will be available electronically to CRL libraries in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong through on-demand digitization and traditional document delivery through the RapidILL service. The Linda Hall Library will be the locus for maintaining, developing and providing access to the collections. Linda Hall’s recently expanded collections facility will provide ample, optimum environmental conditions for the growing paper-based collections.
The collections covered by the partnership include current and back issues of over 50,000 journal titles acquired and maintained by CRL and Linda Hall over the years. These include print serials from Elsevier, Wiley, Springer, and other publishers; historical serials published by the Russian Academy of Sciences and other learned societies in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.; foreign serials in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering received through the Library of Congress Cooperative Acquisition Program; engineering specifications, technical reports, standards and other publications of U.S. and foreign government agencies; and other retrospective serials held by CRL and Linda Hall. Beginning July 1, 2012, Linda Hall will provide document delivery from the print serials to CRL libraries through the RapidILL document delivery service.
The partnership is a logical outgrowth of the traditional symbiotic relationship between academic and independent research libraries. The Linda Hall Library’s longstanding commitment to building and maintaining print collections will assure that much of the important literature of science will not merely survive in its original formats but will remain available to CRL libraries and the researchers they serve.
Guiding this effort will be a Global Resources Senior Advisor for STE Collections. The senior advisor will provide expertise and oversight on the management and development of the designated collections; matters involving access to the collections; and acquisition, continuation, conservation, and digitization of the specified holdings. The senior advisor will also chair the Global Resources STE steering committee, a joint committee reporting to the Boards of the two institutions. The committee will be tasked with identifying broad priorities for digitization and future development of the designated collections and partnership development. The first CRL Global Resources senior advisor for STE Collections will be Stephen Bosch, of the University of Arizona.
CRL's partnership with Linda Hall Library and the establishment of a Global Resources program in Science, Technology and Engineering are part of the transformation of CRL services and operations outlined by CRL Board and management in 2007 and supported by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology is the world's foremost independent research library devoted to science, engineering and technology. A not-for-profit, privately funded institution located in Kansas City, Missouri, the Linda Hall Library was founded in 1946 to support scholars, students, scientists, and researchers. The collection policy emphasizes the acquisition of journals and other serial publications. Monographs, conference proceedings, indexes and abstracts, government documents, technical reports, and other reference materials are also acquired to support the journal collection.
