The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) is a consortium of

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

within the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Members include all of the 39 state-assisted

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

s and

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(the six doctoral degree-granting universities, nine four-year institutions, and 24

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and two-year branch colleges), as well as 34 of the independent (private, nonprofit) institutions and the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library is located at 800 East Broad Street, tw ...

. VIVA is an active member of the

International Coalition of Library Consortia The International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) is an informal, self-organized group of library consortia from around the world; it exists for the strategic and practical discussions of issues of common interest among its consortia members. ...

History

The Virtual Library of Virginia was established in July 1994. In September 2003, VIVA received the Governor's Technology Gold Award for Government Service in Higher Education. A Guide to the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) Records, 1994-200

is hosted on the

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

web site.

Organizational structure

VIVA operates under a memorandum of understanding (MOU). VIVA is headed by a steering committee with 15 members elected from the member institutions, supported by various committees drawn from the constituent organizations. The three standing VIVA Committees are the Outreach Committee, Resources for Users Committee, and the Resource Sharing Committee. Operational responsibility for VIVA is managed by the VIVA staff, consisting of the Director, Associate Director, and Executive Assistant. More information on the VIVA Organizational Pla

is available on the VIVA web site.

Budget and funding

In fiscal year 2012, funding from the General Assembly accounted for 44% of VIVA's total budget, down from 77% in fiscal year 2006. Meanwhile, VIVA member institutions increased their contributions to 56% of the total budget. This demonstrates the extraordinary commitment of VIVA institutions to acquiring and providing essential resources to the Virginia higher education community, highlighting the power of the VIVA cooperative. Previous biennial budgets allocated to VIVA by the General Assembly can be found on the VIVA sit

Member institutions

External links

VIVA Home Page

VIVA Member Libraries

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtual Library Of Virginia University and college academic libraries in the United States Libraries in Virginia