This paper describes the academic library environment in Finland, discussing increases in research funding that have not been directly evident in library budgets. It then describes the FinELib program, the National Electronic Library, which has a centralized approach to joint acquisition of electronic information resources. The key issues have been agreed upon by all members of the university consortia after which negotiations and other operations can be carried out in a flexible manner. The funding principles of the FinELib Consortium 1998-2002 are outlined for resource type, multidisciplinary material, and subject specific material. The remainder of the paper discusses the future of the National Electronic Library, network and information security, and current challenges of the FinELib Consortium model. (AEF)