Vision
It is the most cost-effective acquisition of scientific and professional literature based on cooperation with Slovenian research organisations and libraries as well as other international consortia.
Mission
- Common acquisition of e-resources in the field of social sciences and humanities to support education, research and development of the society in general.
- Provision of nation-wide access to e- resources, optimally using financial assets and the most advantageous conditions to access e-resources in order to support education, research and general development of Slovenia.
- In the purchasing process, the priority is given to resources acquired in co-operation with EIFL members, and to those recommended by the majority of Slovenian libraries and research organisations.
Values
- Rational use of public finance.
- Overcoming of obstacles to more balanced spatial and sustainable development of Slovenia.
- Participation in the support of scientific research and lifelong learning.
- National and international partnership.
- Satisfaction of members.
Strategic goals
- Meeting the needs of contemporary researchers and library users.
- Innovative access to global knowledge.
- Transfer from printed to digital information carriers.
- Promotion of and access to Slovenian knowledge.
Benefits of the COSEC consortium
- It provides access to national and international licensed digital contents to meet the needs of library users and research organisations.
- It provides a more prominent role to the Slovenian library community in fund-raising negotiations for electronic information.
- It ensures participation of Slovenian libraries in the new EIFL business model in which libraries, in cooperation with publishers, play an active role.
- With the assistance of an experienced international negotiation group, it guarantees the best purchasing conditions and the most favourable prices.
- It guarantees good negotiation results as an alternative to high cost of journals.
- It offers education and training schemes and workshops on how to use electronic resources.
- It monitors the evaluation of the use of electronic resources in libraries.
- It promotes electronic databases among users.
- It builds a positive image of Slovenian libraries.
- It ensures an active membership in eIFL and ICOLC.
Background
In 2002, the National and University Library started preparations to set up the COSEC Consortium, entitled With Co-operation towards Information. The international EIFL project welcomed the initiative that received the financial support from the Open Society Institute.
In 2003, the agreement on establishment and operation of the Consortium of Slovenian Libraries was signed by the Central Technological Library, the Josef Stefan Institute, the National and University Library, the University of Ljubljana, the University of Maribor and the University of Primorska, the Association of Public Libraries and the Slovenian Library Association. In 2012, the founders signed a new contract that transferred the management and everyday work of the Consortium to NUK.
In accordance with the consortium agreement, NUK as the consortium coordinator shall:
- Represent and act on behalf of the Consortium,
- Direct and co-ordinate the work and business activities of the Consortium partners,
- Monitor and analyse the needs of consortium partners,
- Jointly with interested members of the consortium create the policy of acquisition of e-resources,
- Make arrangements with information resources providers on the conditions and other issues of acquiring information resources,
- Conclude contracts and other legal transactions regarding the acquisition and use of information resources,
- Make efforts to obtain financial resources for the purchase of information resources,
- Prepare the annual program and report of acquisition activities in information resources within the NUK Annual Work Plan and Report,
- Perform training, evaluation, administrative, technical, legal, accounting and other services to the Consortium,
- Provide material and working conditions for a smooth operation of the Consortium,
- Perform activities related to membership in EIFL, and provides funding to cover the annual membership fee.
Positioning of the Consortium
COSEC emerged as the third provider in the Slovenian consortium landscape, after IZUM and CTK that had previously carried out the majority of consortium acquisitions of databases. COSEC was stressing its specific orientation towards global partnership; therefore priority was given to purchases completed under the auspices of the EIFL Consortium. As such resources were unavailable in Slovenian public libraries and research institutions, the main objective was to obtain information resources in the field of social sciences and humanities.
COSEC is focusing its activities on the implementation of innovative programs for access to knowledge and information that have been created within EIFL.
COSEC logo
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