TRAILS

In Montana, TRAILS (Treasure State Academic Information & Library Services) is a statewide consortium of academic libraries which includes all 23 of Montana's public, private and tribal community colleges and universities. TRAILS serves over 49,500 students, faculty, researchers and community members, providing access to over 4,000,000 library items. The consortium is expected to save seven million dollars over a five-year period. TRAILS maximizes the return on resource investment, enhances teaching and research, improves the user experience, and encourages shared expertise among members of institutions across the state.[1]

Treasure State Academic Information & Library Services
AbbreviationTRAILS
Formation2016
TypeStatewide consortium of academic libraries
PurposeIncreasing efficiency and improving access to resources for students, researchers, and communities in Montana
Coordinator
Pamela Benjamin
Websitetrailsmt.org

History

In May 2014, Montana State University Library dean Kenning Arlitsch and University of Montana IT head and library system administrator John Greer proposed a unified content management system for Montana's academic libraries to the university's board of regents. The proposal was accepted unanimously.[2] That year, funding was requested from the Montana Legislature.[3] Although no legislative funding was awarded, the consortium officially launched in 2016 with the aims of increasing efficiency and improving access to resources for the students, researchers, and communities of Montana.[4] By negotiating with vendors for consortium members, TRAILS provides students and faculty with access to journals, databases, and other resources which might not otherwise have been affordable.[5] In addition to sharing resources and negotiating better prices for materials, in 2017 the consortium negotiated the purchase of the Alma cloud-based library-services platform from Ex Libris Ltd which increases efficiency and resource-sharing (allowing users to search 17 libraries in the system simultaneously).[6] TRAILS, with support from the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, has initiated a statewide program for open educational resources (OER) program, such as free online textbooks.[7] The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities praised the Montana State University Library's leadership of the TRAILS program in 2017,[8] and the MSU Library was named the 2018 Library of the Year by the Montana Library Association.[9] The consortium consists of 24 institutions across the state. TRAILS includes all institutions in the Montana University System (MUS), the state's seven tribal colleges, and four private colleges. A memorandum of understanding was finalized by September 9, 2017, and operating procedures were approved on January 22, 2018. TRAILS is governed by a general council, which includes one representative of each institution. Officers include a chairperson and secretary, who serve two-year terms. Ex officio, non-voting representatives include the TRAILS coordinator and a representative of the Montana state librarian. Since the consortium's inception, its coordinator has been Pamela Benjamin. TRAILS has five standing committees (collection development, digital preservation, OverDrive, open educational resources and professional development) and five technology sub-committees: cataloging, discovery, e-resources, fulfillment and resource sharing.

Member institutions

Notes
  1. "Treasure State Academic Information and Library Services (TRAILS)". trailsmt.org. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  2. "Minutes - Montana Board of Regents Montana State University - Northern" (PDF). Montana University System. 21–23 May 2014.
  3. Schontzler, Gail (2014-08-14). "Montana college libraries asking Legislature for $1.79 million". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  4. "MSU Library to share resources statewide". Montana State University News. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  5. "Montana University System Board of Regents: May 2018 Day One". Montana University System Office of Commissioner of Higher Education You Tube Channel. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  6. Cantrell, Anne (2017-11-21). "MSU Library part of statewide consortium designed to provide better services, save resources". Montana State University News. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  7. Szpaller, Keila (2018-05-23). "Montana Board of Regents prepare for lean legislative session in 2019". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  8. "Montana State University Year Seven Comprehensive Evaluation" (PDF). Montana State University. 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  9. Ricci, Julian (2018-04-16). "MSU Library named Library of the Year by Montana Library Association". QSPNLive.com. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
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