Will departmental libraries lose their decision-making autonomy with a Federal Science eLibrary?
Not at all. As outlined in its 2003 Feasibility Study, the Federal Science eLibrary will be managed as a collaborative, cross-departmental consortium, with shared governance and central administration — a model based on the successful CRKN experience. A Steering Committee, accountable to the membership, will be established to set direction and be responsible for strategic decisions, such as approval of the procurement process and proposed negotiating strategy. In terms of decisions about e-resources, the Federal Science eLibrary will negotiate access rights to a preferred list determined by consortium members. Departmental libraries will always require e-journals beyond what the Federal Science eLibrary will provide so libraries will continue to negotiate on their own for access to specialized reference sources not included under the consortium agreement. A recent survey of departmental libraries to determine preferred e-resources showed that there is a great deal of overlap amongst de
