Introduction and League Library Consortium Update

By Amy Beadle, Library Consortium Director

Hello! I would like to take a moment to re-introduce myself. I had the good fortune to work with so many of you in my previous role as the project lead for the LSP implementation project. As of July 7th, I have transitioned to serving as the Library Consortium Director at the Community College League of California. I know that you are all likely very familiar with the partnership and database purchasing program that has been operated by the League for nearly 20 years. Having spent the last three years immersed in library systems platform operations, that familiarity has been incredibly helpful in making this transition an easier one. 

I’ve been busy learning Consortia Manager, virtually meeting our many vendors and learning more about our vast array of product offerings. I'm currently collecting offers for calendar year purchases. Those offers should be posted to the website later this week. As I continue to grow into this role throughout the coming months, it would be very helpful for me to better understand the decisions that influence your purchasing decisions. If you would, please send me a quick email (abeadle@ccleague.org) and tell me what key factors drive your purchasing decisions. I assume quality and pricing, but you know that they say about assumptions! I would also like to know if there are additional types of content or collections that you might be looking for that you haven’t found in our recent offerings.  Lastly, please tell me one thing that we could improve upon – just one, because, well, there are hundreds of you!

And now onto the “other duties as assigned” part of my new job … Despite herculean efforts by the Council of Chief Librarians (CCL), the LSP Task Force, the LSP Governance Committee and many of you; ongoing funding for the LSP program was not included in that 2020-21 state budget. To say that this is disappointing is a drastic understatement. In order to preserve the many benefits of the LSP project, program leadership had to act quickly in order to make decisions in the best interest of successful continuance. Given our long-standing historic relationship, the Community College League of California in conjunction with the Council of Chief Librarians, has agreed to expand our historic consortium agreement to now include ongoing support for the Library Services Platform program.

As such, we’ve been busy! We are beginning negotiations with Ex Libris for a contract that will become effective January 1, 2021. We are drafting job descriptions to hire a Network Zone Manager/Systems Specialist as well as a Program Manager. We will be sending out letters this week to confirm ongoing participation which will then be followed by participation agreements and invoicing. In an effort to keep stakeholders informed and work towards the next phase of improved operations on Alma/Primo VE, we will be hosting weekly webinars on a variety of topics. Please put our Wednesday Webinar series on your calendars – every Wednesday at 11:00 am (Pacific). A list of upcoming topics will be distributed very soon.

With that, thank you all for your warm welcomes and for your patience as I learn the varied aspects of this new role while balancing the transition of my former role as well!