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Purchasing Agreements - Electronic Products
What is COOL?
The idea of a province wide consortium of libraries was originally discussed at OLA (Ontario Library Association) in 1996. An OLA Task Force was established in 1997 to examine the possible creation of a provincial consortia. The Task Force set about reviewing various models implemented across the continent. It also organized a series of forums with both database vendors and representatives of current database users and regional consortia.
The OLA Task Force sought to launch a pilot project for the Fall of 1998. At the same time as the Task Force was working on this initiative, the Toronto Library Consortium was exploring the purchase of electronic products for libraries in the Toronto area. The two groups decided to merge when it became obvious there was growing support for a province-wide consortium. COOL (Consortium Of Ontario Libraries) was officially created in July 1998.
Current COOL membership includes libraries from the following sectors: universities, colleges, public, and schools. Information for public libraries on products, pricing, and how to subscribe are listed in the navigation bar on the left. For all other libraries, please contact your sector representative. For information on other consortia, please see our brief list of library consortia.