The relationship between Visual Resource curators, libraries and art history departments is in the process of change across the nation. In the past we dealt primarily with visual resource collections in academic departments. Today, we deal with institution-wide collaborative teams. Often the licensing is done by a coordinating body that can help the individual campuses see relationships beyond their own smaller communities.
Their acquisitions budget requires that they look at resources that can serve the most patrons effectively and serve multiple disciplines. In contrast to this need to provide general resources, art, art history, architecture, classics and other humanities divisions are looking for very specific resources with the teaching needs of the faculty as their primary concern.
Administrators want licensing by consortium because it provides the broadest access at the lowest rates. They want all resources to be available to all students. At Scholars Resource our goal is to balance all these perspectives and find the right combination to serve the institutions best.
Licensing in perpetuity is a bold position to take and it is unique in the field. We cannot emphasize enough what a great value that is for the institutions. There are no figures to budget in the future, the faculty can depend on the resources, administrators know what they can count on, the visual resources collections have a cohesive, tangible, local core that they can build on, students can access images in future terms to reinforce their learning…the benefits are many indeed.
To find out more about how to license through your affiliated consortia or to setup your own purchasing group, please contact us at info@scholarsresource.com or 303-997-2900 Ext. 230.