Refocusing the Library Collection

Collections costs always increase

Like other academic libraries, Concordia Library enters into multi-year agreements with scholarly publishers, to make available the research used and created by our own scholars. The Library mitigates cost increases to our collections through consortial purchasing. As members of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, a national consortium of 76 universities, and the Partenariat des Bibliothèques universitaires du Québec, a provincial consortium of 19 Quebec universities, we are part of a strong negotiating position with scholarly publishers.

These agreements present two challenges for the Library:

1. These agreements come with an annual price increase, typically in the range of 4–6% (source: 2025 Serials Price Projection Report by EBSCO).
2. These agreements are signed in US dollars, requiring the library to absorb currency fluctuations.

At a moment when there is a significant decrease in our operating budget, Concordia Library needs to make tough decisions, including making cuts to our collections.