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About SEIR

The California State University has one of the most successful models for shared acquisition of electronic information in the nation. Since 1989, the CSU Chancellor's Office (CO) has conducted a program of cooperative buying which leverages the purchasing power of the largest system of higher education in the nation. The program is focused on achieving economies of scale through the combined purchase of electronic information resources.

In 1989, the CO's Division of Library and Academic Information Services, with the support and approval of CSU's Council of Library Directors initiated a program of cooperative buying which would consolidate the contracting and purchasing power of the, then, 20-campus system. The program was a success from its very beginning having achieved significant discounts for all its participants and is presently saving the University millions of dollars annually.

The systemwide procurement and contracting effort is currently coordinated and managed by the SEIR group (Systemwide Electronic Information Resources) of the Educational Technology Services Cooperative. The program allows SEIR to negotiate and contract on behalf of the CSU campus libraries and academic departments. Information resources are identified and brought to the University for further review under a process developed by the CSU Electronic Access to Information Resources Committee (EAR), a standing subcommittee reporting to the Council of Library Directors (COLD).