Libraries

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.

Academy Owned Scholarly Publishing Landscape Report
Launched in the fall of 2022, the Big Ten Academic Alliance [BTAA] landscape assessment of academy owned scholarly publishing activities explores the shared challenges and opportunities facing publishing programs and operations within the Big Ten institutions.
big ten open books
Big Ten Open Books
Big Ten Open Books connects readers everywhere to fully accessible, trusted books from leading university presses. Established as a new model for open-access publishing focused on equity and inclusion, we invite you to explore our Gender and Sexuality studies collection.
BIG Collection: Resource Access Policy Harmonization Report
The Resource Access Policy Harmonization pilot team is pleased to share their final report. Aspirational in nature, the report includes the new BTAA Resource Sharing Agreement plus Scanning Standards; reaffirms the Principles and Protocols for Sharing Special Collections within the Big Ten; and articulates important next steps for future pilot projects and working group investigations.

Library News


Center for Library Initiatives A Partner on Cross-Consortial Grant Award

Sep 10, 2010, 16:34 PM

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is one of four partners on a National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that will fund the beginning of a national conversation that may lead to the development...

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is one of four partners on a National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that will fund the beginning of a national conversation that may lead to the development of a collaborative strategy for archiving and retaining book collections.

LYRASIS, the nation’s largest regional membership organization serving libraries and information professionals, is spearheading the effort, in conjunction with the Center for Research Libraries (CRL); the California Digital Library (CDL); and the CIC.

The grant will fund the convening of the top minds from research libraries across the country to develop a collaborative model for managing monographs (books) that would allow the protection of unique materials as well as facilitate better use of space in libraries.

“Being part of a national conversation will help our schools make better decisions with what we want to do regionally,” said Kimberly Armstrong, deputy director of the CIC’s Center for Library Initiatives.

Faculty and staff from four CIC member university libraries, in addition to CIC CLI director Mark Sandler and deputy director Armstrong, will attend. Reports from the October ‘think tank’ event will be made available in early 2011.

Successful collaborative solutions for long-term retention of journal, newspaper, and government document collections have set the stage for this conversation. Due to the complexity of monograph collections, it has been a difficult topic to address.

“We’re thrilled to be working with (CDL) and LYRASIS,” Armstrong said. “It’s a neat opportunity to work across consortial lines for everyone to achieve a common good.”