In early February the division released an RFP for licensing statewide access to full-text periodical and other databases, with emphasis on business, health, and social sciences. The Division intends to provide access to all selected resources to all libraries in the state. This access is expected to start in summer 1998, with funding through December 1999. For example, discounts have been negotiated with IAC, SilverPlatter, Ebsco, Electric Library, Sirs, UMI, Britannica Online, and Gale. These discounts have saved libraries hundreds of thousands of dollars on access to electronic resources.
Access is through either individual campus licenses or system-wide licenses.
All WTCS campuses have access to electronic resources, as do many private academic institutions. Because of licensing restrictions, access to much of the content is limited to students, faculty and staff of the respective academic institutions. Access is most often via CD-ROMs in the library or by directly accessing the vendors' databases over the Internet. Libraries that are part of shared automated systems often access the databases over the telecommunication network used in shared systems. About half of the 17 public library systems in the state have vendor contracts for their member libraries.