Collaborating to Explore Controlled Digital Lending as a Library Consortium

Michael Rodriguez, Nathan Mealey, Charlie Barlow

OAI: oai:igi-global.com:313674 • DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-2515-2.ch005

In 2020–2021, the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) explored the potential for controlled digital lending (CDL) across the library consortium. Over the course of a year, the BLC's CDL Working Group engaged with internal stakeholders and external partners to develop a strategic vision for consortial CDL that received strong support from the BLC's Board of Directors. The group arrived at this vision through intensive collaboration, working closely as a group and engaging with the BLC's various membership communities while concurrently engaging with vendors and external entities to cross-pollinate ideas and co-create strategies. The BLC's resultant vision for consortial CDL is also predicated on powerful intra-consortial and inter-consortial collaborations to create the technologies for making CDL possible. This chapter is a case study of how this vision emerged and demonstrates its applicability to other types of consortial collaboration.

Library Science Library and Information Science Library Administration Education Media and Communications