Boston Library Consortium

For Librarians

The Boston Library Consortium offers services to librarians at member libraries ranging from resource sharing and e-resource licensing to professional development and programming on issues of importance to academic and research libraries.

For Students, Scholars & Researchers

Those affiliated with the Full Member libraries of the Boston Library Consortium can take advantage of access to and borrowing of materials from these libraries.

Our Members

State Library of Massachusetts
University of Connecticut
Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Northeastern University
Brandeis University
Bentley University
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Rhode Island
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts Boston
University of New Hampshire
Boston College
Wellesley College
Williams College
Tufts University
Boston University
University of Massachusetts Medical School

BLC Members in the News: Albie Johnson (State Library of Massachusetts)

Late in December 2018, the Boston Globe published an article of Albie Johnson ( State Library of Massachusetts ) as part of their Work Space section. The piece also included information on some of the...

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BLC at risk media project

Earlier this year, three of the BLC member libraries - Boston University , Brandeis University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst - participated in a collection analysis with OCLC Sustainable Collection Services (SCS) to assess...

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Member Events

February 15, 2019

Meeting

BLC Media COI Spring Meeting -- Mugar Library, Boston University

The Spring Meeting of the Media COI will take place on Friday, February 15th from 11:00am to 1:00pm, at Boston University's Mugar Library. Should the meeting be cancelled due to snow, the alternate date is Friday, March 8th, from 11:00am to 1:00pm.

The agenda and virtual attendance instructions will be shared via the COI's list-serv.

February 21, 2019

Save the Date: Collections Strategies Workshop

More and more, library leaders are implementing innovative strategies that advance efforts to transform collections activities from an outside-in model (publisher/provider content) to an inside-out approach (locally created and distinctive content). This can include an emphasis on Open Access, Open Education Resources, Library Publishing, Digital Scholarship, Data Science initiatives and more. Collections transformations should be informed by data, values, and strategic direction, while providing oversight of the building, shaping and presenting of content. Speakers from across the diversity of the Boston Library Consortium will participate on a panel sharing the philosophical and real changes driving their institutions’ approach to collections. Following this panel presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to choose one of two workshops:

1. How can librarians who are responsible for providing strategic leadership for collections activities create frameworks for transitioning from traditional publisher-centric acquisitions to activities that focus more on locally created and/or distinctive collections? What will this look like; what will this include?

2. How are metrics being used to enable data-driven decision making? How is that working in different institutions and what needs to be in place to move collections assessment forward?

The workshops are expected to be interactive and have real-world applicability. Participants are encouraged to attend the workshops with an understanding of how these new ways of thinking about collections can be applied to their institutions.

Registration, logistics, and panelist information is forthcoming.

March 13, 2019

Meeting

BLC Resource Sharing COI Spring Meeting -- Law Library, Boston University

The Resource Sharing COI's Spring meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 13th, 2019. Additional details and a call for agenda items is forthcoming on the COI's list-serv.

March 14, 2019

Meeting

BLC Board Meeting - Beechwood Hotel, Worcester, MA

April 26, 2019

Symposium

Save the Date: The Section 108 Dilemma: Red Tape, Videotape, and Digital Conversion

The Boston Library Consortium’s Media Community of Interest is happy to announce our spring program: The Section 108 Dilemma: Red Tape, Videotape, and Digital Conversion

Friday, April 26, 2019, 10 am-3:00 pm

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

Sponsored by the Boston Library Consortium (BLC)

About this Event

As older formats become obsolescent, today’s academic libraries are making decisions about weeding and preserving older audio and video formats. But it isn’t simply a decision to keep or to save: copyright law and technical work for conversion are complex considerations. This program attempts to help unpack the red tape and skills involved in preserving analog video with experts on copyright, analog to digital conversion, and new initiatives. Please learn about the dilemmas, find answers, and contribute to the discussion that academic libraries need to have.

This program will include panels on:

Section 108 and Copyright
VHS Preservation
Media Digitization Workflows
Vendor Expertise and Collaborations.

Stay tuned for more speaker information and more details soon!

For more questions, contact: Laura Jenemann at ljeneman@bu.edu or Debra Mandel d.mandel@northeastern.edu, co-chairs, Media COI.