JISC

The Electronic Libraries programme (eLib) resulted from the recommendations in chapter 7 of the Joint Funding Councils' Libraries Review Group, chaired by Sir Brian Follett. This Group reviewed libraries and related provision in higher education in the UK, and was commissioned jointly by the four UK HE funding bodies, HEFCE, SHEFC, HEFCW and DENI. Its report (known as the Follett report) was published in December 1993.

The programme had £15,000,000 of funding over three years. The aim of eLib was to 'transform the use and storage of knowledge in higher education institutions'. It was managed by the JISC's Committee on Electronic Information, though the JISC committee which was set up initially to take forward the Follett recommendation was the Follett Implementation Group for Information Technology, FIGIT.

There were two phases to the early part of eLib, but effectively these two phases can be considered together. The first call for expressions of interest in undertaking projects in seven specified programme areas was issued in 1994 ( JISC Circular 4/94 FIGIT Framework), and the second in 1995 ( JISC Circular 11/95 Electronic Libraries programme (eLib): targeted call for new proposals). The latter was mostly to cover areas which reflected perceived weaknesses in the first phase. These two calls for proposals resulted in the funding of some 60 projects.

Phase 3 was designed to build on successes and to have four components:

• hybrid libraries
• large scale resource discovery, or clumps
• preservation
• turning early projects into services

An (unmaintained) archive of eLib programme and project information can currently be found on the UKOLN website.