Boston Library Consortium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Abbreviation | BLC |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1970 |
| Type | 501(c)(3), charitable organization |
| 04-2605198 | |
| Location |
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Region served | New England |
| Members | 26 |
President | Mark Newton |
Executive Director | Charlie Barlow |
| Revenue | US$1,531,667 (2024) |
| Expenses | US$1,482,195 (2024) |
| Staff | 5 |
| Website | blc |
The Boston Library Consortium (BLC) is a library consortium based in the Boston metro area with 26 member institutions across New England.
The Boston Library Consortium is a consortium of twenty-six institutions: sixteen in Massachusetts, five in Connecticut, one in New Hampshire, one in Rhode Island, and two in Vermont. The Internet Archive is an affiliate member.[1] Member institutions represent a mixture of liberal arts colleges, research universities, public and private higher education institutions, special libraries, and public libraries. New members may join the BLC if they are based in the northeastern United States and if their application is approved by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors. The BLC is funded through membership dues.[2]
The BLC is administered by an Executive Director and governed by a board of directors. Each member institution of the BLC is represented on the Board by the chief librarian of its principal library. According to its bylaws, the consortium's purpose is "to share human and information resources so that the collective strengths support and advance the research and learning of the members’ constituents."[3]
Members
Current members include the following institutions:[4]
- Bentley University
- Boston College
- Boston Public Library
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Connecticut College[5]
- Internet Archive - Affiliate Member
- Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Middlebury College
- Northeastern University
- State Library of Massachusetts
- Trinity College
- Tufts University
- University of Connecticut
- University of Hartford
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Massachusetts Boston
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- University of Massachusetts Lowell
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
- University of New Hampshire
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Vermont
- Wellesley College
- Wesleyan University
- Williams College
History
The BLC was founded in 1970 and officially incorporated in 1977, consisting originally of five institutions. It had grown to twelve institutions by 1993, seventeen by 2014, and nineteen by 2019. Former members include Brown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[6] The BLC partnered with the Faxon Company to launch development of a union list of serials in 1982.[7] BLC executive directors have included Hannah Stevens as of 2000,[8] Barbara Preece as of 2002,[9] Melissa Trevvett as of 2010,[10] Susan Stearns from 2014 to 2020,[11] and Charlie Barlow since 2020.[12]
