AMICAL Meeting #2 • Lebanese American University • Beirut, Lebanon • June 1, 2005

1. Resource Sharing: Current and Future Trends AMICAL Meeting #2 • Lebanese American University • Beirut, Lebanon • June 1, 2005 AMICAL’s Opportunities for Success: Building Upon the Experience of U.S. Liberal Arts College Library Resource Sharing and Consortia Activities Terry Metz, Vice President for Library and Information ServicesWheaton College • Norton, Massachusetts • USA

2. Why Share Library Resources and Services? Motivators: • User expectations: insatiable demand for more information resources and services as users’ network access expands • Information Technology (IT) reducing barriers of geography and time • Vast, growing array of information resources and services becoming digital (many “born” digital); digital technology fosters sharing • Parent institutions facing increased competition • Reduced willingness/ability among campus administrators to invest in expanding/building new “brick and mortar” facilities • Overall pressure for cost containment • Because my boss said I had to

3. Multi-Institutional Library ResourceSharing Potential • Bibliographic and Technological Tools: • international bibliographic utilities (e.g. OCLC) • union catalogs/union lists of serials • interlibrary loan/document delivery systems • integrated library systems • course management systems • web sites and search engines • Collection Development (both print and digital) • Staff Expertise • Staff Development • Benchmarking • Grant Funding • Library/Information Technology (IT) collaboration • Other?

4. Library Consortia Example #1: CLIC Cooperating Libraries InConsortium: • Located in Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota USA • General information, including mission and objectives statement: <http://www.clic.edu> • Organizational Structure Documents: <http://www.clic.edu/organizational_structure_documents/org_struc_index.htm>

5. Library Consortia Example #2: HELIN Higher Education Library Information Network: • Located in Rhode Island and Massachusetts USA • General information: <http://131.128.70.2/screens/helininfo504.html> • Bylaws: <http://131.128.70.2/screens/fyibylaw.html> • Agreement for Integrated Library and Information Services: <http://131.128.70.2/search/psouto/psouto/1,1,4,B/l962~2750874&FF=psouto+ruth+e&4,,4,14053,0>

6. Four Liberal Arts College Consortia • Oberlin Group (libraries) • General information, including history: <http://www.oberlingroup.org> • CLAC: Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges (technology) • General information, including history: <http://www.liberalarts.org> • NITLE: National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education: • General information, including history: <http://www.nitle.org> • CLIR CIOs: (LACs blending library/IT operations) • General information: <http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/LIS/about/CLIR_Dir.html>

7. International College and University Library and IT Agencies Promoting Collaboration • Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) • General information: <http://www.clir.org> • International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) • General information: <http://www.ifla.org> • EDUCAUSE • General information: <http://www.educause.edu> • Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) • General information: <http://www.cni.org>

8. Benchmarking Examples • LibQUAL+ <http://www.libqual.org> • Oberlin Group library surveys • Associate of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) A Student’s Guide to Evaluating Libraries in Colleges and Universities <http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/marketingyourlib/studentsguide.htm>

9. Benchmarking Examples (cont’d) • CLAC “COSTS Project” survey <http://www.costsproject.org> • EDUCAUSE Core Data Survey <http://www.educause.edu/apps/coredata> • EDUCAUSE Student Guide to Evaluating Information Technology on Campus <http://www.educause.edu/studentguide>

10. Key Ingredients of Collaborative Success • clear definitions of success • realistic expectations • concrete, “actionable” goals and milestones • reliable funding • reliable infrastructure • effective organization • creative, service-oriented staff and administration • willingness to embrace change and to evolve over time • perseverance and determination • resilience…and a sense of humor

11. Collaboration: What are the Implications? • hard work • more work? different work? complex work? • time investment • authority and accountability (who’s in charge and where does the buck stop?) • balance of accountability (all units contributing to degree possible?) • change of (loss of?) control • stereotypes and jealousies can be barriers • requires getting to know others (warts and all) • others? • working together • equal footing (each unit contributes; partners respect one another) • sharing ideas • sharing work • achieving what could not be done individually • mechanism for creating something richer than individual component parts • attractive to granting agencies • others?

12. Anticipated Hurdles for AMICAL Library Resource Sharing? • maintaining partnerships and linkages • fostering active participation of members • conflicting priorities? • standardizing programs and procedures • lack of funds and high costs • dealing with language and cultural barriers regarding communication • geography? • others?

13. Assessing Opportunities for AMICAL Library Resource Sharing • who wins/benefits? • how? • when? • at what opportunity cost? • funding opportunities? • political will and determination? • others?

14. Presenter Contact Information Terry Metz Vice President for Library and Information Resources Wheaton College Norton, Massachusetts 02766 USA voice:508-286-8225 fax: 508-286-8275 <tmetz@wheatoncollege.edu> <http://www3.wheatoncollege.edu/tmetz/> AIM Chat: admiralspruance