Texas Library Coalition for United Action: Twenty-Seven Universities Across Texas Join Forces, New Coalition Seeks Lower Costs and Greater Access to Research

UPDATE September 16, 2020 University of Texas System Joins Texas Library Coalition to Improve Access to Scientific Journals (via (UT System)

–End Update–

From Texas A&M University:

Twenty-seven universities across Texas have joined forces as the Texas Library Coalition for United Action (TLCUA) to think creatively about access to faculty publications and the sustainability of journal subscriptions. TLCUA has organized to identify the best way to change current models and the relationships between academic institutions and publishers. The goals of the Coalition are ambitious – improved access to scholarship, greater control over faculty content, and pricing models that are sustainable for strained library budgets in higher education.

The sustainability of providing scholarly research at ever-increasing costs is putting these academic libraries in difficult positions as they work to offer access to scholars on their campuses.

“We are nearing a tipping point where we can no longer continue under the current business model,” said Sara Lowman, Vice Provost & University Librarian at Rice University and chair of the Coalition Steering Committee. “We want to come up with solutions that benefit everyone involved: the taxpayers and others who fund our research, the professors who conduct the research, the publishers who disseminate our research findings, and people around the world who benefit from research conducted in Texas.”

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The Coalition has begun its mission by entering into dialog with academic publisher Elsevier. They hope that through positive engagement and mutual understanding, an improved and sustainable model for the dissemination of scholarship can be achieved.

Read the Complete Announcement, Review List of Coalition Members

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Elsevier, Funding, Libraries, News, Publishing