About Licensing

Licensing at CRL: Advancing Access and Advocacy 

The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) negotiates favorable terms for the purchase or subscription of major electronic resources on behalf of its member libraries. 

CRL's Consortial Licensing Unit oversees two key initiatives:

• Global Licensing Program: Focused on global and niche resources, this program secures access to cultural heritage, humanities, social sciences, news content, grey literature, and primary source materials. 

• NERL (originally the Northeast Research Libraries Consortium): Building on its legacy of securing resources from major publishers, particularly in STEM fields, NERL also fosters professional development in licensing and negotiation through the collective advocacy of the NERL Program Council. 

Beyond their distinct focuses, the two programs collaborate to explore innovative publishing models and partnerships that sustainably benefit member libraries and the wider scholarly community.

Across all its programs, CRL’s Consortial Licensing Unit champions shared values, advances the needs of research and academic libraries, and enhances the scholarly communication ecosystem through thoughtful advocacy and strategic negotiations.