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.

web accessibility
Library Accessibility Group webinar: Revised ADA Title II in the Library
The slides and recording from the webinar on August 27, 2024 are now available.
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

The Big Ten Academic Alliance joins Direct to Open from the MIT Press

Jul 21, 2021, 13:51 PM

The MIT Press and the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) have entered a three-year collective action agreement that provides Direct to Open (D2O) access for all fifteen BTAA member libraries. An innovative, sustainable framework for open access monographs, D2O moves professional and scholarly books from a solely market-based, purchase model to a collaborative, library-supported open access model.

The MIT Press and the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) have entered a three-year collective action agreement that provides Direct to Open (D2O) access for all fifteen BTAA member libraries. An innovative, sustainable framework for open access monographs, D2O moves professional and scholarly books from a solely market-based, purchase model to a collaborative, library-supported open access model. 

Developed over two years with the generous support of the Arcadia Fund, D2O gives institutions the opportunity to harness collective action to support access to knowledge. As participating libraries, the Big Ten members will help open access to all new MIT Press scholarly monographs and edited collections from 2022. In addition, the member libraries will gain term access to an archive of gated titles, including classic works from Rosalind Krauss, Daniel Dennett, Noam Chomsky, Paul Krugman, Sherry Turkle, and many more. D2O libraries also gain the benefit of discounting on the MIT Press's trade books collection on the MIT Press Direct platform.

“The MIT Press Direct to Open model advances the goals of the Big Ten Academic Alliance by supporting a sustainable path for open access scholarship,” states Rob Van Rennes, Associate Director, Library Initiatives for the BTAA.  “We’re excited to be a partner in this community effort to build an equitable and sustainable ecosystem for our member institutions as well as the wider academic community.

“We are thrilled to have the support of BTAA in our mission to make scholarly monographs and edited collections available as widely and openly as possible,” says MIT Press director Amy Brand. “Their sponsorship will go a long way in helping to ensure the success of the D2O model. D2O will also guarantee that any author, regardless of their ability to source funding, is able to publish their accepted monograph open access with the MIT Press.”

About the Big Ten Academic Alliance

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is the nation’s preeminent model for effective collaboration among research universities. For more than half a century, these world-class institutions have advanced their academic missions, generated unique opportunities for students and faculty, and served the common good by sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and collaborating on innovative programs. Governed and funded by the Provosts of the member universities, Big Ten Academic Alliance mandates are coordinated by a staff from its Champaign, Illinois headquarters.

About the MIT Press

Established in 1962, the MIT Press is one of the largest and most distinguished university presses in the world and a leading publisher of books and journals at the intersection of science, technology, art, social science, and design. MIT Press publications are known for their intellectual daring, scholarly standards, interdisciplinary focus, and distinctive design.