Flvc library services
A cornerstone of FLVC is its Library Services division. The division is responsible for supporting:
- Integrated Library System (ILS)
- User interface / discovery tool
- E-Resources
- Digital library services
- Open educational resources (OER)
- Statewide Help Desk
- Library staff training
Utilizing a shared-services model, FLVC’s centralized library system saved the state of Florida $17 million in FY 2023-24, compared to implementing the system at 40 individual colleges and universities. Consolidating ILS software licensing saved the state an additional $1.9 million.
FLVC’s centralized ILS, along with consolidated ILS software licensing, saved Florida nearly $19 million in FY 2023-24.
FLVC's centralized, fully-automated ILS provides access to more than 15.5 million books, 38 million e-resources, and 1.5 million digital archive items.
FLVC’s Library Services division operates the integrated library system used by all public college and university libraries in Florida—40 institutions and more than 150 campus libraries statewide. This centralized, fully automated ILS provides all public postsecondary students, faculty, and staff with access to more than 15.5 million books, 38 million e-resources, and 1.5 million digital archive items.
The ILS includes a comprehensive suite of back-office tools that enable each institution’s librarians and staff to manage its collections and support library-related business needs efficiently and effectively across their campuses. The ILS’s administrative tools include acquisitions, fulfillment, resource management, analytics, data loading, resource sharing, and others.
College and university students typically use their respective library’s website as an interface to search for books, e-resources, and other information contained in the centralized ILS. The interface utilizes powerful software (aka “discovery tool”) which interacts with the ILS to make it faster and easier for students to search and discover the resources and information they need. FLVC’s Library Services division is responsible for ensuring seamless interaction between that discovery tool software and the ILS.
College and university students searched FLVC's ILS more than 23 million times in FY 2023-24.
Access to high-quality, scholarly e-resources is essential for students' academic success across all disciplines. To support this need, FLVC receives direct legislative funding to negotiate, acquire, and manage a comprehensive statewide collection of information-rich e-resources for Florida’s public postsecondary institutions. This initiative ensures that all students, regardless of their college or university, have equitable access to the academic resources they need to succeed.
Centralized licensing of the statewide e-resources collection saved the state of Florida more than $15 million in FY 2023-24, compared to decentralized licensing.
In addition to managing the statewide e-resources collection, FLVC offers a separate group licensing program, where institutions can opt-in to acquire additional resources tailored to their specific needs. Through this program, FLVC negotiates e-resource licenses on behalf of participating institutions, leveraging its consortial relationships to achieve significant cost savings that might not be attainable through independent negotiations. This program broadens resource availability and strengthens the financial sustainability of libraries across the state.
During FY 2023-24, FLVC secured a record-breaking 601 subscriptions for participating institutions, resulting in cost savings of more than $6 million compared to individual licensing.
FLVC provides a suite of centralized, statewide digital library services, including:
- Florida Open Academic Library – A searchable database of digital archives and collections held by public postsecondary institutions, more than 1.5 million items in all.
- Florida Islandora – A platform used by college and university libraries to create digital collections and make them accessible to the public free of charge.
- Florida OJ – A scholarly journal publishing platform that provides online public access to more than 50 journals published by institutions across the state, in a variety of academic disciplines. Florida OJ was accessed more than 2.4 million times in FY 2023-24.
- Student Open Access Resources Repository – A web-based, searchable database of open educational resources curated by students, librarians, faculty, and staff from Florida’s colleges and universities. Includes over 150 open resources tailored to more than 15 of the highest dual enrollment general education core courses.
- OPEN Florida – A collaborative community and infrastructure for OER development and research statewide. Currently, more than 325 college and university librarians, faculty, admin, staff, and students are engaged in OPEN FL initiatives.
FLVC is a leading advocate of OER as means to make higher education more affordable for today’s students.
FLVC’s annual OER Summit brings together local, state, and national educators, administrators, and policymakers to focus on ways to expand student access to no-cost textbooks and other learning materials. The Summit features prominent experts in OER and higher education, and highlights tools and resources to help attendees implement and expand upon OER programs at their home institutions.
FLVC’s statewide Help Desk provides phone, email, and chat support for all its services. A significant portion of that activity is in support of library-related services managed by FLVC. In FY 2023-24, the Help Desk handled more than 6,700 requests for assistance from colleges and universities across the state.