Welcome!  This is the project blog for E-BASS25 ( E-Book Aquisition as a Shared Service in M25).  Firstly, many thanks to JISC for funding this project, which I am sure will provide some really valuable findings and advice on the patron-driven purchasing of e-books on a consortium basis.

E-BASS25 is a project led by Royal Holloway, University of London (on behalf of the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries), with partners at Kingston University, JISC Collections and the Science Museum (on behalf of the Museum Librarians and Archivists Group).  In addition, we are looking forward to working with SCONUL, LUPC, SUPC, Sero Consulting and the University of Surrey.

The project seeks to define practical guidelines and tools which will enable libraries to work together with providers and purchasing consortia to deliver the best possible return on investment and the highest level of efficiency in this priority area of library provision.

As e-books continue to develop as an important format and resource in libraries for students and researchers, it has become increasingly important to define best practice and cost-effectiveness in managing their acquisition and delivery in a library context.  This project focuses on the purchasing of e-books on a consortium basis and will deliver considerable benefits in terms of engagement with libraries, the dissemination of guidelines around e-book acquisition and a more coordinated approach across the various groups involved.

The project has ambitious aims to shape policies and guidelines that will facilitate easy and cost-effective processes around patron-driven e-book acquisition within library consortia.

More updates on this project, including the finalized project plan will follow soon and this blog will be a key source of information as the project progresses, so watch this space!

Dominic Tate – Project Manager, E-BASS25