Since its transition to CRL in 2013, NERL has operated as a core licensing program of CRL dedicated to negotiating favorable licensing terms for academic libraries and fostering collaboration in the procurement and lifecycle management of electronic resources.
NERL is a national leader in negotiated licensing, NERL maximizes effective and sustainable access to content for its member institutions. By building and supporting alliances between higher education and the information industry, NERL serves as an advocate for the collective power and influence of academic libraries and their parent institutions.
NERL Values
Transparency: NERL is committed to open negotiations, sharing details on discussions, outcomes, and costs to lead by example for academic libraries. We prioritize vendors who uphold transparency.
Sustainability: NERL seeks agreements that promote collective ownership and infrastructure, moving beyond outdated pricing models. We favor smaller, cost-effective deals with clear pricing and no unnecessary content.
Equity: NERL works to eliminate barriers in scholarly communication, ensuring fair costs for researchers and institutions and supporting open-access publishing for all.
Reproducibility: NERL agreements protect author rights, including retaining copyright, enabling computational research, and allowing article deposits in institutional repositories.
Flexibility: NERL promotes innovative, efficient, and sustainable business models that support the dissemination and preservation of scholarly work.
