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Contact: Tim Carter Senior Media Advisor 0207 273 8299/07752 193 330 tim.carter@mla.gov.uk

New deal gives library users access to world-class online reference material

A new agreement, managed by The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, will enable public libraries in England to achieve significant financial discounts on high quality online reference resources.

The last such agreement resulted in over £3.5m savings for public libraries in England.

MLA’s ground-breaking Reference Online initiative was originally launched in February 2006 with the intention of finding ways in which public libraries in England could provide their users with the best possible range of online resources at the most economic price and to streamline the procurement process for both libraries and suppliers.

The second Reference Online Framework Agreement, which comes into force this month, offers subscription opportunities to all public libraries in England. The 2008 agreement will last for four years and sees an increase in the number of MLA-approved suppliers to 22 and the number of products double to fifty.

The resources offered for libraries to choose from via Reference Online  include general reference material, business, legal and financial information, subject-based encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, serials, newspapers and newspaper archives, and – for the first time – materials for children and streamed music services.  Materials to which libraries subscribe will be available either in the library or remotely 24/7 to anyone with library membership.

Roy Clare said:  “MLA’s Reference Online programme enables library services to purchase world class online resources at lower costs. The agreement opens up a huge amount of reference material to library users both at home and in their local library. It also represents very good value for money and I welcome very warmly the successful outcome of a great deal of work by Susi Woodhouse of the MLA, and others who have supported her in negotiating this outcome.”

For further information, including pa full list of all available products and services visit http://www.mla.gov.uk/programmes/digital_initiatives/reference_online