MPowering the State was established a few years ago by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents to promote innovation and impact through collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park. MPowering the State provided one-time funds, to be reviewed and renewed annually, for shared library collections supporting this collaboration. The University Libraries at College Park, and the Health Sciences and Human Services Library and the Thurgood Marshall Law Library at UM Baltimore employed these funds to establish the MPower Virtual Research Library, an interdisciplinary collection supporting advanced biosciences research and education between these universities.
As you know, The State of Maryland has recently faced significant financial challenges, which have affected every state entity, including the University System of Maryland. Funding for the MPower Virtual Research Library is one of the casualties. Fiscal year 2016 brings substantial reduction in support, and is the last year in which our libraries will receive MPower funding. The three library directors have informed their Provosts and the System that none of our libraries are able to fund these resources in the future due to flat or reduced collections budgets. We are looking at ways to collaboratively fund some of the resources but any funding there will necessitate hard decisions regarding reductions in other areas.
The MPower Virtual Research Library has substantially benefited the research and teaching of many faculty, students and librarians at our institutions. It was an opportunity to develop a biosciences knowledge infrastructure supportive of collaboration across these major USM research institutions. Loss of access to these resources may have considerable negative impact. Faculty, students and other researchers should consult with library faculty at their institutions to determine alternative resources.