Boston Library Consortium

For Librarians and Library Staff

The Boston Library Consortium offers services to librarians and staff 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

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

Presidential Grant from the Davis Educational Foundation strengthens partnership with the Open Education Network

October 14, 2020 —Through a generous grant from the Davis Educational Foundation , the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) is launching a one-year pilot of OpenBLC to support faculty adoption of open educational resources (OER) across...

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Logos of the eight Professional Development Alliance consortia

Boston Library Consortium partners with seven library consortia to expand virtual professional development opportunities

August 17, 2020 —The BLC is collaborating with seven library consortia from across the United States to launch the Professional Development Alliance. This new initiative multiplies the number and variety of virtual professional development opportunities...

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Member Events

October 20, 2020

Webinar

Minitex Webinar: Teaching Information Literacy K-16

The challenges students face when conducting research can feel overwhelming. In this presentation, Reference Outreach & Instruction Librarian Linda Mork, a former high school English teacher, K-12 media specialist, and academic librarian, will offer ideas about teaching concepts from the ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy in order to help students of all ages understand and navigate the information ecosystem and provide strategies to help move them past common research roadblocks.

This webinar is offered to staff at BLC member libraries as part of the pilot Professional Development Alliance. To learn more about the Alliance, and to see all available webinars, please visit the Professional Development Alliance Pilot Project page.

October 22, 2020

Webinar

BLC Webinar: Demystifying Research and Publishing in Libraries

This discussion-based webinar offers guidance for academic library staff who want to conduct research and get published. The webinar comes from the perspectives of four librarian authors and editors who are at varying stages of their careers. Speakers will attempt to demystify topics such as developing research ideas and methods, conducting research projects, writing for your audience, intriguing editors with unique angles to your work, and more.

Tips and tricks will be shared! Speakers will address a diverse range of publication types, from peer-reviewed articles to reviews and case studies. This webinar is designed for any and all library workers who want to explore pursuing research and publishing, including librarians going up for promotion, tenure, or review. Following the webinar, attendees will be provided with additional learning materials to keep.

Learning Outcomes:

Attendees will understand how to develop research ideas and identify methodologies.
Attendees will identify the various elements and avoid the various pitfalls of the research, writing, and publishing process.
Attendees will understand the editorial process for various types of publications, think through their research agendas, and select the right venues for their work.

Presenters:

Michael Rodriguez is the Collections Strategist at the University of Connecticut Library, where he coordinates collection development and strategic initiatives. Prior to this role, he was Licensing & Acquisitions Librarian, also at UConn, and E-Learning Librarian at Hodges University in Florida. A 2017 graduate of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship, he has published three book chapters and many articles and reviews in Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, Charleston Advisor, Technical Services Quarterly, and other venues. Michael is a column editor for Serials Review and was a Library Journal Reviewer of the Year and an Against the Grain Up-and-Comer.

Juleah Swanson is an Assistant Professor and Head of Acquisition Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her research areas include exploring librarianship through the lens of racial, ethnic, and professional identity theory, as well as examining equity and inclusion in the knowledge production system, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Juleah has published a number of peer reviewed articles in journals such as College & Research Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship, In the Library with the Lead Pipe, and Library Resources & Technical Services. Juleah was a participant in the first cohort of the Institute for Research Design in Librarianship.

Ken Varnum is the Senior Program Manager for Discovery, Delivery, and Library Analytics at the University of Michigan Library. In this role, Ken is responsible for the library's discovery interface and the library's evolving and emerging analytics infrastructure. He received a master's degree from the University of Michigan's School of Information and his Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College. Ken is editor of the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Information Technology and Libraries. In addition to numerous articles and chapters, he has written or edited five books, including 2019’s Beyond Reality: Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality in the Library.

October 22, 2020

Webinar

BLC Vendor Webinar: Project ReShare

Consortial partners, commercial developers and related technology-focused organizations came together in mid-2018 to create new resource sharing solutions amidst an environment of increasing market consolidation and concerns about worsening service. ReShare is an open source, community-owned resource sharing solution which can be self-hosted or hosted by a service provider to extend a shared index and resource sharing functionality to groups of libraries. Presenters will demonstrate the software, describe the partnership that created it, and will provide insight into planned future developments, with special focus on the specifications being developed for a suite of tools to facilitate controlled digital lending while making use of interlibrary lending workflows, controls and safeguards. More on the website: https://projectreshare.org/

Please note that this webinar is open only to staff at BLC member libraries. The webinar will be recorded and shared within the BLC.

October 26, 2020

Meeting

BLC AUL/AD COI Virtual Meeting

The BLC AUL/AD COI will hold a virtual meeting on Monday, October 26th from 2pm-3:30pm. The agenda and login information will be shared via the COI's list-serv.

October 27, 2020

Webinar

ASERL Webinar: The Happy Place: Creating Positive Library Spaces Using Emotional Intelligence

Employee engagement can be challenging. In this fun and interactive workshop, participants will learn how to engage staff in meaningful ways while creating a culture of positivity and respect. Based on real life situations and years of communicating and working with staff, managers from Wake County will explore the key factors they discovered that contribute to a happy work environment. Participants will have an opportunity to share ideas that have worked in their organizations.

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Brandy Hamilton is currently a Regional Library Manager within the Wake County Public Libraries system, in the greater Raleigh Area. She holds a BA in English and an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. She has more than 18 years of library and management experience. Brandy has been active in the North Carolina Library Association for 18 years, holding a variety of positions. She is the current Chair for the Leadership, Administration, and Management Section of the association.

Rita Bhattacharyya is the Adult Services Department Manager within the Wake County Library System, located in the greater Raleigh area. She holds a BS in Social Work from Texas Tech University and a MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rita began her career as a youth services librarian and transitioned to adult services in 2014. Her professional interests are making sure that the library system provides exceptional service to all areas of the population.