The library is arguably the kernel of purpose for any university — including our own institution.
UNC can be called a community built around libraries, for the purpose of scholars producing knowledge. UNC also professes a commitment to the betterment of our citizenry and our state. We are proud that our library system is already doing an excellent job at this. We want it to do even better.
Even if you are not a student, you are entitled to walk into any of the libraries (all public buildings), whenever you like, to peruse what they have to offer. Beyond books, this may be a database, periodical or journal article accessible by library guest computers. At UNC, for $25 a year, you may purchase a borrower's card to take a small number of traditional books off-site to read.
NC Live is a state collaboration between library systems and higher education institutions that was started 20 years ago. It provides home access to electronic resources, such as periodicals, journals and ebooks at local libraries, for as many residents as possible. This program is a step in the right direction for our state. We suggest one specific, and one general, improvement.
Academic journals are where cutting-edge scholars write on every imaginable subject, yet access to them from home most often depends on affiliation to a state institution. Depending on the particular institution, you may or may not have access to a certain journal.
We would like those who have collaborated on NC Live to consider consolidating all North Carolina University full-access academic journal subscriptions into this central search engine, with potential access for all state residents.
We realize that the publishers of academic journals cannot provide this service for free, but we expect that expanding access will give readers access who would not have purchased journal services individually. We feel that some kind of state-wide version of the borrower's card fee for traditional books should be offered to any resident who wants access to academic journals for a similar nominal yearly fee, maybe even on a combined card. This would bring full market leverage to our state knowledge institutions in order to bear in bargaining with publishers for the potential educational benefit of our people.
We also encourage any possible way to get books in the hands of those residents whose mobility is limited, either by rural geography, personal disability or lack of transport. Current inter-library loan systems are a great beginning basis for further expansion and integration. Whether progress means further digitization of content, or physical delivery of materials is a matter of further research, we believe any resident should have access to all of the materials that our state has to offer. Any further, efficient integration of inter-library services between county, municipal and higher education libraries should be considered.
Our higher education institutions have done a commendable job keeping their doors, both virtual and physical, open to former students, potential students and lifelong learners in the state. If education is a key to the advancement of our public's collective good, then the more unlocked doors we can provide, the better.
