FAQs

Who is the fiscal agent?
The Community College League of California acts as the fiscal agent for the consortium. All orders are placed through the League, with their staff handling the recordkeeping and collection of funds from the colleges. A small service charge is added to the cost of the database to cover expenses. Vendor invoices are sent to the League for payment.
How does the consortium decide which vendors to work with?
In making a decision to work with a specific vendor, we evaluate how well the resource meets the needs of our students and whether we can arrange a consortial price that is better than the price an individual college can negotiate on their own. If the arrangement does not meet both criteria, we do not pursue offering it through the consortium. Once an agreement is reached for product offering through the consortium, our staff prepares a program announcement which includes description of the product(s), trial and pricing information, information on usage statistics and remote access and an order form. Libraries have the option of which products to purchase to meet their individual curriculum needs.
What is the delinquent payment policy?
A delinquent payment policy has been in effect since August 2002. When payment is 90 days past due the date of issuance on the invoice, colleges will be accessed a 5% penalty fee and access to the database (s) may be suspended.
When did the consortium start?
The Council of Chief Librarians and the Community College League began the consortium in 1998 with five electronic offerings, and has now grown to over 1000 electronic products offered through the consortium. The Community College Library Consortium Director is Amy Beadle, who can be reached at abeadle@ccleague.org or at 916.800.2175.
Is the consortium just for California community colleges?
No, we also have community colleges in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Texas, and Hawaii that have licensed databases through our consortium. While serving libraries outside California is not our primary emphasis, we are happy to help out where and when we can. If you are a community college librarian outside California and are interested in working with us, contact James Wiser.
 
Do you compile an Annual Report?
We publish an annual participation report at the end of each fiscal year. To view the most recent participation report, click here.
What other information is on the consortium web page?
On the consortium web page, you can find vendor contact information, tech support contact information, links to rights and restrictions, 508 statement of compliance information and more.
How often can we buy databases through the consortium?
We offer two order cycles, fall and spring and make special arrangements as necessary for short term orders to accommodate the libraries special needs.
How often will we receive renewal statements?
Renewal forms are sent out to colleges that have purchased products through the consortium during that previous order cycle. For instance, if you ordered something in Spring 2015, you will receive a Spring 2016 renewal form listing what was ordered by your college last spring with updated pricing for the new term.
How do I add a new product if it is not on my renewal form?
Order forms for all electronic products are part of the program announcements which are posted on the consortium web page. Program announcements also include information on trials, what is included in the offers and other information provided by the vendor.
Who or what is the CCL-EAR committee?
The Electronic Access Resource Committee, appointed by the Council of Chief Librarians, includes librarian representatives from ten regional areas of the state and acts in an advisory capacity. This committee evaluates electronic offers for their appropriateness for inclusion in our program, prepares reviews of products, and funnels information back to their respective districts. All of the reviews and minutes from CCL-EAR meetings are posted on the consortium web site.
Order Records from OCLC

To request records:

Connect to: http://collectionsets.oclc.org/wcs_index.jsp

  1. Login with your OCLC authorization and password
  2. Update the contact information and select your delivery option (I find Product Services Web to work well)
  3. Click on the “Select Sets” link
  4. Click on the “Apply” button on the bottom left of the screen
  5. Click on the letter “N” on the bottom left of the screen
  6. Scroll down all the different netLibrary sets until you get to the “Netlibrary – Community College League of California 10”.
  7. Check in the box to the left of this collection
  8. at bottom of screen, check on ‘add to order’
  9. click on ‘customize sets’ at left menu
  10. make choices about holdings and the wording for the electronic location access
  11. click on update at bottom of screen
  12. click on ‘submit order’ at left menu – make a note of the number/name assigned to your request

In a few days, you will receive an email that your records are ready. Do the following:

To retrieve MARC records through PSWeb:

  1. Connect to http://psw.oclc.org/psw/
  2. Click on "Records and Reports".
  3. Click on "OCLC World Cat Collection Sets".
  4. Enter your OCLC authorization and password. Your authorization and password is the same OCLC authorization and password you used above
  5. Click OK
  6. Select the desired file to download.
  7. Perform a Save As, as per your browser's Help instructions.
  8. Make sure you pull the file name that was assigned in step 12 above. This file will be specific to the information you requested be added to the records.
Top
  1. Consortium
  2. FAQs