Consortia: As A Tool to Access E-Resources in Health Science Library Users

The idea of consortium is not new. There were instances of several libraries coming together voluntarily for the mutual benefit of respective health science library users just like cooperatives, it was the earliest stage of library cooperation. In the second stage, computerized networks come into vogue for sharing of resources. Till this period, the library resources were mainly in traditional printed format. The networks created their bibliographical databases. The users of the participating libraries could get the required documents from other libraries through consortia. With the advent of e- resources, the concept of consortia has been mooted mainly for acquisition of e-journals e-books and e-newspapers.  As the resources that are procured today through the consortium are mainly e-resources, it has become possible for the health science library users to access and download the required materials without even going through the elaborate process of inter-library lending. Though library consortia have been created with narrow purpose, these can be turned into efficient instruments for sharing all types of health science library resource.