Libraries
The Libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance are aligned in the vision of uniting our separate collections into one collection, shared and fully networked: the BIG Collection. By this phrase we mean a holistic and comprehensive understanding of what a library "collection" is: not simply the things we hold, but our services; our people; our expertise; our technology; and our infrastructure.
In advancing this future of interdependence and excellence, we are guided by our North Star in everything that we do:
In order to advance a just, trustworthy, scalable & sustainable open knowledge ecosystem, make open, more equitable scholarship our lead purpose.
On these pages, you'll find more about the services, programs, and community that are advancing this vision in a principles-centered, mission-driven, values-aligned way.
ADA Title II & Libraries
Catch the webinar replay + slides from our August 27 event. Now posted on our Accessibility page.
Big Ten Open Books
A new model for open-access publishing—free, trusted titles from Big Ten university presses..
Shared Print White Paper
Explore the vision for a collaborative, distributed archive across Big Ten libraries.
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Big Ten Open Books Project Launches First Collection
Aug 1, 2023, 09:00 by Kara McKinnIn partnership with six member university presses, the University Librarians of the Big Ten Academic Alliance announce the launch of the Big Ten Open Books project, a collaboration between the university presses and libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.Full story -
Big Ten Academic Alliance and Accessible Archives’ New African American and Women’s History Collections
Apr 25, 2023, 10:50 by Kara McKinnThe Big Ten Academic Alliance announces the acquisition of new essential primary source content for member libraries through Accessible Archives. The range includes African American Newspapers in the South, 1870-1926, and The Woman’s Tribune, 1882-1909.Full story -
Big Ten Academic Alliance and JSTOR Announce Multi-year Agreement for Path to Open Pilot
Apr 21, 2023, 11:13 by Kara McKinnThe research libraries of the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) have entered into a multi-year pilot agreement with JSTOR to support Path to Open, a new cost-effective, sustainable publishing model for supporting frontlist university press monographs and making them open access after three years.Full story -
Big Ten Academic Alliance announces agreement with OA Switchboard
Feb 28, 2023, 13:52 by Kara McKinnBig Ten Academic Alliance libraries have reached an agreement for OA Switchboard to benefit from the standardized metadata protocol and shared infrastructure provided by this community-led intermediary initiative. This agreement began on January 1, 2023, and runs through December 31, 2025.Full story -
Big Ten Academic Alliance signs Open Publishing Agreement with the Microbiology Society
Feb 20, 2023, 14:19 by Kara McKinnThe Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Microbiology Society are delighted to announce a three-year open publishing agreement from 2023, facilitated by Accucoms. The Publish and Read model will allow affiliated researchers at 15 universities to publish an unlimited number of Open Access (OA) articles in hybrid and fully OA titles, as well as have full read access to the Society’s journals portfolio.Full story