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 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

CIC Supports Association of Research Libraries' Statement on Future of Depository Program

Oct 25, 2011, 12:40 PM

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and its members have a long-standing participation in and support for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), a partnership between the US Government and libraries throughout the United States that ensures the public has no-fee access to government information. ARL members invest significant staff, financial resources, and space allocations to the FDLP with the belief that equitable access to information about the government and its programs is central to democracy.

Recently, changes in policy and practice by the US Government Printing Office (GPO) and its failure to embrace needed changes to the FDLP present serious challenges to the Program’s sustainability and viability. Importantly, these changes impact the ability of the public to effectively access government information both now and in the future.

More than 30 ARL Regional Federal Depository Coordinators have written to the GPO regarding the policy changes and the CIC has written a letter of support for ARL's efforts. For more on this issue, please see the CIC Letter of Support for ARL October 2011 and visit ARL's page on the Federal Deposit Library Program.