New Century Libraries to Bring Unprecedented Access to Resources Through Academic Libraries

New Century Libraries, the Board of Regents $107 million budget proposal for libraries, will greatly expand access to scholarly resources for all New York's students and faculty. Public and independent colleges and universities, proprietary colleges, and non-degree proprietary schools will benefit from such elements as the Academic and Research Initiative. The Initiative will invest $15.1 million annually to provide access to the resources of the state's academic, special, and research libraries in a number of ways:

• A Core Academic Collection for Higher Education (CACHE) will support a basic academic collection of electronic resources for students and faculty through NOVEL (New York Online Virtual Electronic Library)--at no cost to academic, special, and research libraries.
• Coordinated Collection Development Direct Aid for Academic Libraries will provide improved student and faculty access to specialized academic collections of electronic and print resources, as well as considerable cost savings and leveraging of resources through cooperative purchasing.
• Grants and matching funds will support collaborative purchasing and promote the use of emerging technologies at reduced costs.

Recognizing that strong research partnerships among business, industry, and academic institutions will drive New York's economic future, the Board of Regents continues to make New Century Libraries, including the academic proposal, one of its highest priorities. A complete list of organizations that have endorsed New Century Libraries is available at www.ncl.nysed.gov/ncl/endorsements.html.

For more information, visit the New Century Libraries Web site at www.ncl.nysed.gov/ or contact Janet M. Welch, State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries, at (518) 474-5930 or jwelch2@mail.nysed.gov.