Couperin

The Couperin consortium (Consortium unifié des établissements universitaires et de recherche pour l'accès aux publications numériques) is a not-for-profit association funded by membership fees from member institutions and subsidised by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. It relies on the active and voluntary commitment of staff from the member institutions and a dedicated team of permanent staff. Specialists in scientific and technical information, the staff of the libraries and documentation centres of the institutions play a leading role.

The main aims of the Couperin Consortium are to:

• Build and develop a national network of skills and exchanges in the field of electronic documentation, in particular concerning acquisition policies, collection development plans, information systems, publishers' invoicing models, access ergonomics, usage statistics, etc.
• Evaluating, negotiating and organising the purchase of digital documentary products at the best price for members
• Help clarify and develop contractual relations with publishers
• Contribute to the development of a range of French-language content
• Promote access to electronic resources for people with disabilities
• Work to improve scientific communication and encourage the development of non-commercial Scientific and Technical Information systems.
• Work towards the development of open science
• Developing expertise in documentary information systems, acquiring common interoperable tools and advising on methods for integrating them into institutions' information systems,
• Work towards standardisation in the field of documentation
• Produce and support studies on the use of electronic documentation.
• Encourage national, European and international cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Information.