Community College Librarians Keep Digital Platform Running in California

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/07/21

A recent effort by a team of librarians has resulted in a three-year agreement to continue the shared library services platform. Community College League of California, a nonprofit that supports community colleges, has signed a three-year contract with ExLibris to continue making the company's online library services Alma and Primo available to 110 participating colleges in the state.

The system, dubbed the Library Services Platform (LSP) by the colleges, allows students to use a single search for physical library materials, library database subscriptions, digital books and open educational resources. They can access electronic resources, check their library records and renew books online.

Originally funded by a one-time grant from the California Community College Tech Center, LSP usage was scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2020, when no replacement funding had been identified.

The League stepped in and worked with the Council of Chief Librarians to renegotiate the original contract. That was signed before the end of December, enabling the colleges to continue use of the service without a break. Calling the program "critical to our community college students," Lisa Mealoy, chief operating officer for the League, said that financial support also came from the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, which provided an additional $440,000 grant for that first year of usage.

The ongoing annual cost of the program is divided among the participating colleges, based on their full-time equivalent enrollments.

According to Amy Beadle, the League's Library Consortium Director, the library platform has turned out to be "one of the most successful statewide technology projects the state has seen — 110 colleges joined and went live in 11 months." As Beadle noted, many of those libraries wouldn't have been able to continue functioning during COVID without the LSP program.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • pattern featuring interconnected lines, nodes, lock icons, and cogwheels

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.5 Expands Automation, Security

    Open source solution provider Red Hat has introduced Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.5, the latest version of its flagship Linux platform.

  • glowing lines connecting colorful nodes on a deep blue and black gradient background

    Juniper Launches AI-Native Networking and Security Management Platform

    Juniper Networks has introduced a new solution that integrates security and networking management under a unified cloud and artificial intelligence engine.

  • a digital lock symbol is cracked and breaking apart into dollar signs

    Ransomware Costs Schools Nearly $550,000 per Day of Downtime

    New data from cybersecurity research firm Comparitech quantifies the damage caused by ransomware attacks on educational institutions.

  • landscape photo with an AI rubber stamp on top

    California AI Watermarking Bill Garners OpenAI Support

    ChatGPT creator OpenAI is backing a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content in the form of a digital "watermark." The proposed legislation, known as the "California Digital Content Provenance Standards" (AB 3211), aims to ensure transparency in digital media by identifying content created through artificial intelligence. This requirement would apply to a broad range of AI-generated material, from harmless memes to deepfakes that could be used to spread misinformation about political candidates.