An Evolving Model for Consortial Print and E-Book Collections: Triangle Research Libraries Network, Oxford University Press, YBP Library Services Pilot

The Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) and Oxford University Press (OUP) are continuing their pilot to create a financially sustainable model for consortial acquisition of e-books coupled with needed shared print copies in cooperation with YBP Library Services (YBP). The project expands acquisitions of e-books in tandem with reductions in print, so as to move both the consortium and the university presses to a decidedly electronic environment for books that will enhance support for instruction and research across the disciplinary spectrum within an environment that is acceptable to users. This paper reports on the challenges and lessons learned in Year 1, librarian and patron reactions to this format shift, and the resulting philosophical and practical evolutions in TRLN’s approaches to monographic acquisitions generally and understandings of what constitutes cooperative success specifically. The paper also discusses how this knowledge has changed understandings about vending and acquiring e-books and their relationship to print, and what have been the implications of these experiences for making changes in Year 2 and envisioning how the pilot would become a permanent venture