K to 12 Education eResource Purchasing
TALCO undertakes collaborative negotiation of e-resource purchases, in the form of databases and ebooks, to support the K to 12 education sector in Ontario. Examples of e-resources include online collections of newspapers, magazines, peer-reviewed journals, ebooks, media (image, audio and video) and specialized digital content created to meet the needs of the K to 12 education sector. These eResource offerings compliment and are in addition to eResources provided through OSAPAC (Ontario Software Acquisition Program Advisory Committee).
School libraries provide digital resources to meet curriculum needs and to foster and support information and digital literacy, inquiry, and reading engagement. Collaborative negotiation and purchasing amongst libraries is standard practice and results in considerable savings and efficiencies. Collaborative purchasing can also lead to broader, more equitable access to digital resources for school boards and students across Ontario.