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Information for Vendors

This page provides information for vendors with existing agreements with eHLbc and for vendors interested in working with the consortium in the future.

eHLbc is a health library consortium serving 50 organizations in the BC post-secondary and health care sectors. We work with a range of vendors to offer products to participating organizations. Most notably, eHLbc licenses a Core Suite of nine EBSCO and Ovid resources and 15 additional resources on behalf of its member organizations. These include index and abstract services, fulltext databases, ebooks, videos, and more.

eHLbc Member Organizations

eHLbc licenses health resources on behalf of 25 public post-secondary colleges, institutes, and universities; three private colleges, institutes, and universities; two government ministries; eight health authorities; two regulatory colleges; and ten health organizations. These institutions are grouped into tiers according to type and size of organization. Visit the Members page for more information.

eHLbc Licensing Principles

eHLbc's licensing process is guided by the belief that all health students, researchers, and practitioners deserve access to quality and trusted research. Consortium members must always realize a benefit from working with a consortium to license a resource. While there is tremendous value in the power of consortia to leverage larger numbers to garner better prices, each consortium member is autonomous and makes its own decision regarding its ultimate participation in consortial licenses and services.

Consortia provide publishers and vendors with an efficient method for negotiating licenses through one office, for billing via one invoice, and for disseminating information on licensed products through one consortial communication infrastructure. While being sensitive to publishers' and vendors' needs for discretion, consortia value open and transparent operations.

Recognizing that each organization, sector, and consortium is different, consortia maintain there is value in creating a consistent pricing and discount approach for resources under consideration for licensing.

Visit the Licensing Principles page for more information.

New Product Licensing Process

eHLbc's new product licensing process is driven by the needs of its member organizations. Member organizations nominate resources they feel should be considered for licensing by the consortium using the eBox, which is open to suggestions for a short period every two to three years. A Ranking Survey is then distributed to member organizations, inviting them to vote among the resources nominated in the eBox. The results of the Ranking Survey establish eHLbc's acquisition priorities.

The eBox and Ranking Survey are open only to member organizations. Vendors wishing to have their products licensed by eHLbc should follow these steps:

  • solicit interest in the product from among member organizations,
  • ask the members to consider nominating the product for consideration in the eBox.

Many vendors find that the best way to reach many eHLbc member staff at once is by participating in the BC Library Association annual conference.

The eHLbc new product selection process benefits everyone, as it ensures that there is sufficient interest among members for a successful offering before initiating negotiations with the vendor.

eHLbc does not seek unsolicited product offers from vendors, nor will it pass on such offers to its members.

Licensing and Technical Considerations

Typically eHLbc licenses products on an "opt-in" basis, with two or more member organizations choosing to subscribe to a license. The pricing model usually reflects eHLbc's licensing cost-sharing model, although alternate pricing models can be considered. eHLbc serves as a central communication point with the vendor, handling the negotiations, communicating with member organizations, signing the licence agreement, and invoicing members. In exchange for the value it brings to the licensing process, eHLbc expects consortial pricing to reflect a significant discount off the "retail price" and that this pricing be an exclusive benefit for our members. Member organizations pay the same price that eHLbc is charged for a product; no administration fee or commission is added.

eHLbc works with vendors to achieve a contract, license, or terms of use document acceptable to all parties. Vendors are encouraged to use the eHLbc Model License (please contact the eHLbc Administrative Centre for a copy of the model license).

The standard authentication method for members subscribing to a resource is through a valid IP range recognition by the vendor's servers. Other types of authentication, such as referrer URL, are occasionally used.

See the Cost-Sharing Models page for more information.

Multi-Consortial Licensing

eHLbc works regularly with other library consortia to enable more benficial licensing arrangements. A partial list of current partners includes:

Contact eHLbc

The eHLbc Administrative Centre is located at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus. If you have any questions about eHLbc, feel free to contact us.