TexShare Databases Authorized Access

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) administers the TexShare Databases Program (Program). Membership in the Program is open to qualified Texas academic, medical, special, and public libraries. For information on eligibility, see https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texshare/eligibility.html.

Membership in the Program allows institutions to access electronic resources licensed by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for statewide use. Training, limited technical support, and promotional resources are also included in the Program membership.

Membership in the Program is optional and requires payment of a membership fee invoiced once per state fiscal year. Each member of the Program may choose to:

Enable all or selected Program electronic resources for their Authorized Users. Authorized Users of member institutions may access Program resources on-site at the institution and may login through an authentication system for remote access. Authorized Users are defined by library type as follows:
- Public Libraries: library staff and patrons in addition to walk-in visitors to a library at any authorized site.
- Institutions of higher education and other academic institutions: students, faculty, visiting scholars, and staff in addition to walk-in visitors to a library at any authorized site.
- Libraries of clinical medicine as defined in Chapter 13 TAC 8.1: current employees of the institution which is served by the library, patrons of the library, and walk-in visitors to a library at any authorized site.
- Authorized users of TexShare member Texas public/K12 combination libraries: registered patrons, students, faculty, staff, and families of students in addition to walk-in users while on site.
Curate access as appropriate given local policies and regulations. Members may limit access to specific Program electronic resources by user type, for example.
Suppress individual items of content for their institution as needed to respond to community concerns and requests for reconsideration of books, journals, and articles included in the electronic resources. Members should follow local policies and procedures in handling reconsideration requests.

Program members are responsible for ensuring that their use of Program electronic resources is authorized by their governing body, if necessary, and complies with any laws, policies, or procedures for use of Program electronic resources.

K-12 school libraries (public or private) are not eligible to participate in the Program. TSLAC licenses a different set of electronic resources for selection by public K-12 school districts and open enrollment charter schools. This program is known as the TexQuest Program. More information is available at www.texquest.net. K-12 students may use Program electronic resources at their local public library or remotely using credentials provided by the public library and in accordance with any local use policies.

K-12 students enrolled in dual-credit programs and/or Early College High School programs through community or 4-year colleges and universities are also students of the college or university and may be given access to Program resources through the college or university. However, due to the nature of the relationship between the K-12 school and the college or university, parental consent for access to Program resources may be required prior to granting access. K-12 school teachers, librarians, staff, and volunteers who are directly involved in an Early College High School or dual-credit course may also be given access to Program electronic resources by the college or university, as well as Texas Education Service Center staff involved in these programs. Their access will stop upon completion of the course or program.

Some Program electronic resources are licensed only for academic and medical libraries or only for public libraries. Contracts with these license restrictions are marked on the list of currently available databases at https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texshare/databasecontractlistfy2024.html. Participating libraries may use only the resources that are licensed for use by their type of library.

Except as noted above, Program members are solely responsible for selection of the specific electronic resources to make available to their Authorized Users through the Program.

Program members may not:

Publish their login credentials in any newspaper or other publication except those distributed directly by the institution to its Authorized Users.
Publish their login credentials on their website, course management system, or library catalog unless access to the credentials is protected by some other form of authentication available only to Authorized Users.
Enter into agreements with school districts or individual K-12 schools to give all students automatic access to TexShare electronic resources at school. TexShare electronic resources should not be incorporated into K-12 curricula or classroom instruction, except in the case of dual-credit classes and Early College High Schools. Programs to offer library cards to students for homework help and other library services are not affected by this restriction as long as no special provision for access to TexShare electronic resources is included.
Violate vendor restrictions on interlibrary loan, data mining, and other uses to the extent that those restrictions are specified in the contracts between TSLAC and the vendors. TSLAC’s contracts with electronic resource vendors include a set of standard Terms and Conditions for Program electronic resources. Additional vendor-specific changes to the TSLAC Terms and Conditions may exist in the full contract between TSLAC and a vendor. Contracts are available through the TSLAC procurement portal at https://tsl.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=publicContracts.

Failure to abide by these restrictions could result in loss of resources statewide and will result in suspension from the program. Fees will not be refunded.

If you have questions, please contact the TexShare office at texshare@tsl.texas.gov.