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District staff reports on $50,000 virtual reference collection and usage by school
Summary
District libraries participate in a roughly $50,000 virtual reference collection purchased through Eastern Suffolk BOCES; staff presented utilization by school and discussed BOCES aidable rate and potential overlaps with local public library resources.
District staff described the district’s virtual reference collection (VRC), a consortium of about 60 subscription databases purchased through Eastern Suffolk BOCES that the district purchases as a single package for roughly $50,000 per year.
Deirdre, the staff member who oversees the district’s libraries, told the Budget Advisory Committee that individual databases in the VRC often cost between roughly $6,000 and $12,000 apiece if bought separately, and that buying through BOCES reduces the overall cost. Because the purchase is through Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Deirdre said the cost is eligible for some BOCES aid; staff estimated the aidable share would be about 50–66 percent depending on whether salaries are involved and the specific BOCES rules that apply.
Deirdre provided school‑level utilization data from Sept. 1 through March 9 so the BAC could compare hits per school against enrollment and get a per‑student sense of usage. She said elementary schools rely heavily on resources such as CultureGrams and PebbleGo, while secondary schools access a broader set of databases; the district’s highest utilization among secondary sites was reported at Murphy, whose newer library staff member received specific praise.
Committee members asked whether some academic resources could be accessed for free through Emma Clark Library (a local public library) — for example, JSTOR content — and whether duplication between the district’s paid access and public library offerings warranted pruning subscriptions. Deirdre responded that comparing holdings, utilization and authentication/partnering possibilities would require follow‑up research to confirm whether switching to public‑library access would be feasible or beneficial for students who need seamless, school‑managed access.
The BAC briefly discussed cost‑management options, including an earlier staff review of an a‑la‑carte purchasing approach; staff said that approach is complicated because different databases serve different grade levels (some are heavily used at elementary and unused at secondary) and the consortium purchase leverages purchasing power to include elementary‑level resources that would be otherwise costly.
No formal committee action was taken; staff offered to return with comparative analyses and details about the BOCES aid calculation if the BAC wanted further information.
