ICOLC releases statement on COVID-19 with Vendor Community Support

In response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICOLC, the International Coalition of Library Consortia, released a statement. In full support of this gesture, Amigos Library Services would like to share the following:

Dear Amigos Member,
In response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICOLC, the International Coalition of Library Consortia, posted a statement requesting that information service providers work with consortia and libraries to get as much information as possible to the users who need it. The statement included a spreadsheet where vendor responses were posted by a variety of consortia and libraries. The ICOLC statement has now been translated into nine different languages, and use of the spreadsheet is spreading internationally.

ICOLC wants to maximize the information-gathering power through our new Expanded Access Specifics spreadsheet (EAS), which parses all the details from each provider. We built this spreadsheet with librarians in mind and to integrate into their workflow. It is divided into categories to help guide librarians to Courseware to help faculty move their classes online, COVID-19 Research to get the latest research and news on Coronavirus to researchers and clinicians, and General Content to provide electronic resources to help students and faculty finish out the semester.

In order to make the spreadsheet more comprehensive and streamline the submission process, we encourage you to add any missing resources via the Complimentary Expanded Access Specifics submission form. This Form will allow standardization of ICOLC’s data collection and allow other librarians to benefit from our collective efforts.

This unprecedented time challenges us to seize new opportunities for collaborating on a large scale. Thank you for helping SCELC, ICOLC and other libraries provide a channel which can help address the hardship confronting us at this time.

Thank you.

The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) is an informal, self-organized group currently comprising approximately 200 library consortia in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. The member consortia serve all types and sizes of libraries. ICOLC supports participating consortia by facilitating discussion on issues of common interest. Twice per year ICOLC conducts meetings dedicated to keeping participating consortia informed about new electronic information resources, pricing practices of electronic information providers and vendors, and other issues of importance to directors, governing boards, and libraries of consortia. From time to time ICOLC also issues statements regarding topics which affect libraries and library consortia. ICOLC has been in existence since 1996. https://icolc.net/