Note About EBSCO Elite vs. Premier Package

When $1M in state funding was lost due to government cuts in FY2009-10, the AIRS collaborative purchase program could only afford Academic Search Elite, MasterFile Elite and Business Source Elite rather than the Premier versions of the databases. During that year, more than 40 large academic and public libraries chose individually to upgrade to the Premier databases directly through EBSCO, having determined that the Elite versions of those databases were not adequate for their patrons’ needs.

During the following year (current year, FY2010-11) EBSCO worked with Colorado to save money. Rather than dealing individually with those 40+ libraries that paid to upgrade, EBSCO allowed for those libraries to pay for their upgrade to Premier through the AIRS program centrally. This consolidation of purchasing power not only resulted in discounted pricing for each of those 40+ libraries, it also offered  the opportunity to turn on access to the Premier databases for ALL libraries that cooperatively purchase through AIRS.

We wish to publicly THANK those libraries that upgraded. By unifying their purchasing power, they not only saved themselves money, they also subsidized the rest of the cooperative, allowing hundreds of other libraries to have full access to the Premier databases. A list of those upgrading libraries can be viewed here on the AIRS web site, and we celebrate their cooperative spirit.

Want even more background? Check AIRS Snapshot – History of the Package.