Summary of SOLS Licensing Activities in 2019:

“E-resources and E-collections 2019 Recap…“We would like to thank all libraries who recently ordered 2020 licenses through the Provincial and Supplemental Licensing programs, as well as the shared provincial OverDrive and French eBook  collections. We believe strongly in the benefits of consortia purchasing, and we value your continued support in this area! Here’s a rundown:

Provincial Licensing – 214 libraries spent approximately $2.7 million on 69 different products, with a collective savings of over $508,000.

Supplemental Licensing – In total, 75 public libraries spent approximately $1.1 million among 32 available products and saved nearly $231,000. Once again this year, we received the highest discount that Lynda.com offers (20%) due to the high level of library participation.

Provincial OverDrive Consortium – The consortium has 187 member libraries for 2020, with access to a shared collection valued at over $4 million. There were 2,985,074 checkouts in 2019 – an increase of over 10% from 2018. Libraries that serve a population of 100,000 or less and do not currently have their own OverDrive collection are eligible to join this group, for details please visit: https://www.sols.org/index.php/overdrive

French E-book Collection: The French E-book Collection currently has 33 member libraries, and the current contract will expire on March 31, 2020. SOLS has issued an RFQ for French content vendors and will be selecting a vendor in February to continue supplying French digital content for the April 1, 2020 contract renewal date. This collection currently provides access to e-Books only, but as a result of member feedback the platform will also include eAudio titles in April 2020. Any public library in Ontario is eligible to join this collection, for details please contact Beth Harding, Digital Licensing Coordinator.”