Annual memberships are billed according to the calendar year and available in the following categories:

(Effective October 1, 2007)

Full Member

Eligibility:
Open to all institutions of higher education and independent research libraries.

Support:
$5,304 dues; $7,500 purchase commitment (1)

Consortial Member

Eligibility:
Open to institutions of higher education and independent research libraries that prefer to channel their support of SPARC via an established library consortium.

Support:
Dues are 0.215% of aggregate annual library materials expenditure of all consortium members that elect to participate in SPARC (2). Minimum $5,304 total dues per consortium, and purchase commitment (1) equal to dues amount.

Supporting Member

Eligibility:
Open to all institutions of higher education and independent research libraries.

Support:
Dues are 0.215% of library’s total annual library materials expenditure. Dues minimum is $1,060, maximum is $5,304. No purchase commitment.

International Supporting Member

Eligibility:
Open to all non-North American academic institutions and independent research libraries. Note that institutions in the U.K. and Europe should contact SPARC Europe.

Support:
Dues are $1,060. No purchase commitment. This is a non-voting membership.

SPARC Europe Membership

Eligibility:
U.K., Republic of Ireland and European institutions, please use the membership form available from SPARC Europe.

Support:
Membership categories and dues are listed on the SPARC Europe membership form.

Affiliate

SPARC also welcomes affiliations with associations & societies.

Eligibility:
Open to academic and professional associations and societies with memberships comprised of libraries, educational institutions, or scholars and researchers.(3)

Support:
$5,304 annual contribution per calendar year.

Notes:
1. The “purchase commitment” is the amount that the member agrees in principle to spend annually on new subscriptions to journals offered to the marketplace by publishers under SPARC partnership arrangements. Actual spending is contingent upon the member’s satisfaction with the number, variety, quality, price and relevance of such journals offered. As new subscriptions are added, libraries will have the opportunity to more than offset their cost with reductions in the number of high-price journals to which they subscribe.

2. The aggregate annual library materials expenditure of consortium members that are also supporting SPARC individually as a Full Member is excluded in calculating the dues amount / purchase commitment for a Consortium.

3. Affiliate status subject to acceptance by the SPARC Steering Committee, based upon determination of the organization’s compatibility with the interests, values and goals of SPARC.