The NorthEast Research Libraries consortium (NERL), a nonprofit program operating under the auspices of the Center for Research Libraries, is comprised of 29 core member academic research libraries and approximately 90 affiliate member academic and/or research libraries. The goal of the consortium is to foster and support the educational and research missions of its member institutions by coordinating, consolidating, and negotiating the best possible licensing terms and prices for electronic resources.
NERL additionally offers its members a scholarly forum in which to share information about fundamental issues in academic librarianship with respect to collection, management, budgeting, and advocacy for key concerns in the field.
Principal Consortial Functions
Electronic content licensing
Other Functions
NERL acts primarily as a buying club in order to achieve lower prices and advantageous licensing terms of use. The group participates in advocacy initiatives. NERL provides vendors and publishers a single point of contact to disseminate information, license, and invoice the consortium members.