Speakers: Tony Horava, Associate University Librarian (Collections), University of Ottawa Library, and CRKN (Canadian Research Knowledge Network) Negotiations Resource Team member; George Machovec, Associate Director, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, and Managing Editor, The Charleston Advisor; James R. Mouw, Associate Director, Technical & Electronic Services, University of Chicago, and Editor-in-Chief, Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services; Ann Okerson, Senior Advisor on Electronic Strategies, Center for Research Libraries.

Cost: $100 [Representatives of CRL libraries can attend gratis, but advance registration is required.]

Research libraries invest millions each year on purchase and subscription to large digital collections of news, law, and government publications and records; and primary opinion, financial, and historical data. Some databases cost upwards of five figures to acquire, and can be expensive to link to local discovery systems. 

How do major research libraries make such consequential investment decisions? How does one measure a database price against potential benefits, such as functionality, interoperability with other available resources, local researchers’ needs? As library funds become more scarce, what kind of due diligence can be done to support those decisions?

CRL has provided access to major collections of humanities and social science information and documentation for North American research libraries for over sixty years. At this CRL-sponsored pre-conference, leading collection development and licensing experts will discuss how their libraries and consortia measure the worth of major databases and what kinds of information and tools are available to support library decision-making. CRL will also solicit attendees’ views on what kind of information is needed to support major decisions on major electronic resources.

For more information or to register, visit the Charleston Conference website.