USMAI Consortium of Libraries
University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions

Joint Report of the Council of Library Directors Committee on Structure and Citizenship and the IWG Restructuring Committee

July 9, 2004

On April 15, 2004, the LIMS Council approved revised Bylaws, establishing the University of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Consortium of Libraries. The new Bylaws stipulate that the business and affairs of the Consortium will be managed by the Council of Library Directors and provide for an Executive Council consisting of seven members. Subsequent to its work on redrafting the Bylaws, the Vision and Bylaws Committee of CLD turned its attention to the Vision, Mission and Goals Statement of the Consortium. An earlier committee did an excellent job of drafting the content of the Statement. With a few additions suggested by CLD members, the Committee simply reorganized the format to separate current strategies from long term goals. Both the Vision Statement and the Current Strategies document were approved by CLD. The Vision Statement was also approved at the LIMS Council meeting on April 15th.

The final task of the Vision and Bylaws Committee (now called the Committee on Structure and Citizenship) is to make recommendations for an organizational structure that will serve as the basis for future cooperative activities of the Consortium. On October 30, 2003, approximately 100 librarians of USMAI libraries gathered in Westminster Hall on the UMB campus to attend presentations relating to the implementation of and future plans for the ALEPH system. In addition, this gathering served as a celebration and well-deserved recognition of substantial efforts on the part of many staff members of ITD and of the USMAI libraries who, over a period of several years, made significant contributions to the successful implementation. The committee structure for implementation, with representation from all participating libraries, was an important mechanism for sharing of information, for ensuring that the needs of all the libraries were considered in development of the new system, and for coordinating testing and training efforts. The result is clearly worthwhile-a functional library system that has been well received on the campuses. However, this success was not achieved without cost to the libraries. A significant amount of staff time was required for meetings and for testing and training activities on site at the campuses.{1} The question to be addressed at this time is how we can best organize ourselves to move forward as a Consortium now that the initial implementation phase has been completed.

While the ALEPH system will continue to be an important part of cooperative activities and system upgrades will continue to occur, the overall focus of the Consortium should be broader. Future directions were discussed at a Council of Library Directors retreat held at University College in 2003 and are reflected in general terms in the Vision, Mission and Goals Statement. Our campuses are facing a period of rapid change in the landscape of scholarship and publishing. User expectations that encompass both print and electronic resources are stretching limited staff resources. The libraries and the Consortium can and should take a leadership role on the campuses and within the University System of Maryland in important areas such as electronic publishing and copyright in the digital age. Collaboration in planning for the future and in supporting each other in the provision of services is important. While appropriate during system implementation, the existing committee structure requires changes as the focus turns to activities beyond the library system.

In working out the details of the proposed plan, the CLD Committee joined forces with a subset of members of an IWG Restructuring Committee. This report is a joint effort of the two groups. During our discussions, many important considerations were raised and several emerged as guiding principles for this proposal.

These include the following:

The proposed plan contains the following elements:

Campus Level

It is critical to the functioning of the Consortium that members:

To facilitate the above, it is proposed that the library directors of the sixteen consortium libraries appoint a Campus Contact and an alternate for each library. The Campus Contact would coordinate USMAI activities on each campus and would be responsible, with the library director, for establishing an appropriate campus structure for sharing information about and acting on recommendations and official requests for input or information from ITD, CLD, and other consortial groups. The Campus Contact will be responsible for reporting problems to ITD; for maintaining a list of issues and development requests that affect the particular library; and for communicating information about library priorities as appropriate.

A possible Model for a Campus Organization Plan is as follows:

  1. The Director/Dean uses an established (or establishes a) university advisory group to provide input and feedback on consortium issues as experienced locally.
  2. The Campus Contact and the Director/Dean establish a local USMAI involvement team that is responsible for
    • coordinating consortium activities locally
    • communicating local issues to the consortium and consortium issues to the local site
    • responding to requests from the consortium and communicating them locally and consortially
    • testing and reporting results as requested in a timely fashion
    • ensuring that the local site is informed of all consortium activities, decisions, plans, etc.; and
    • serving on or suggesting individuals for task groups.

The local USMAI involvement team should meet routinely.

Suggested Members:

Under the proposed plan of organization, a Campus Contact would be appointed for each participating library. Campuses can adopt the Model described above or design their own local plans of organization as appropriate.

Communication within the Consortium

Within the sixteen libraries, significant expertise exists in wide-ranging areas. All staff members would benefit from access to information about activities occurring within the individual libraries in addition to ready access to information relating to cooperative efforts within the consortium. Three recommendations relate to communication and sharing of information across the consortium.

First, the Committee recommends creation of a web site designed for USMAI librarians.

Possibilities of things to be included are:

  1. a repository for training materials and guides relating to the catalog, SFX, for particular databases and for other types of materials of interest to more than one library;
  2. staff directories with information about responsibilities;
  3. staffing news (changes in responsibilities, new staff, vacancies, etc.);
  4. information about individual libraries (library guides, hours, links to web sites, annual reports, etc.);
  5. a regularly updated section containing news from each library;
  6. reports from ITD and task groups;
  7. minutes of meetings;
  8. an events and professional development calendar; and
  9. a site for the posting of working papers and articles accepted for publication written by library faculty.

Second, it is recommended that list serves (and web pages if desired) be created that reflect communities of interests. These can be in functional areas such as circulation; they can be in areas of USMAI activity such as digital libraries; they can relate to functions such as associate university librarians or serials; or they can be in topical areas such as music or chemistry. These are just examples; there are obviously many possibilities. Participation in one or more than one would be voluntary and open to all USMAI staff. These would provide forums for the sharing of ideas and for problem-solving; they would also serve as an additional mechanism for task groups to gain feedback on particular issues or proposals.

Third, all consortial groups must follow a communications protocol calling for agendas to be distributed prior to meetings and minutes to be posted within a specified time period. A common charge of all task groups will be to obtain input of interested parties prior to the formation of recommendations.

Establishment of Priorities for ITD

The questions of how priorities will be established for consortial activities and of how development requests from individual libraries will be handled under the proposed structure are critical ones. As a first step, the Director of ITD will develop a draft development plan for ITD that will be presented to CLD. That plan should take into account all available information about the Version 16 implementation; existing plans for SFX and Metalib; and the information collected through a recent IWG process relating to priorities of individual campuses. Following presentation of the development plan, the CLD should determine next steps, including the possibility of forming an Information Technology Planning Task Group to refine or to follow up on the plan. It is envisioned that campus contacts and the library directors will play a significant role in the ongoing prioritizing and publicizing of development requests from individual libraries, and that the CLD will be better equipped to make a decision about an appropriate mechanism for determining future priorities once a draft plan has been received and the new structure is in place.

Task Groups

When issues arise that require the formation of groups to address particular issues and make recommendations for consortial action, a mechanism should exist to establish such groups. Duration of groups will vary depending on the nature of the issue. The mechanism must allow for rapid formation of groups in instances in which time sensitive issues are involved, in addition to a normal pattern that might involve creation of groups for a determined period such as a calendar or fiscal year. In both instances, group composition should:

  1. include individuals from differing types and sizes of libraries to the extent possible;
  2. include individuals from different areas of the libraries and campuses, including directors and faculty members, to the extent it is appropriate and feasible to do so; and;
  3. include individuals who have a commitment to the goals of the consortium in addition to interest and expertise in the particular topic.

It is envisioned that task groups will be formed by CLD, by ITD, and by other consortial groups if CLD specifies such authority in an initial group charge. Groups for which the anticipated duration is longer than six months must be approved by the CLD. Unless an exception is made by CLD, the anticipated size of all task groups is envisioned to be 5-6 members. Meeting times and agendas should be publicized and meetings will be open if others wish to attend.

The Committee recommends that after the list of task groups for a given time period has been established, an application process occur in which a list of groups, their charges, and anticipated duration is sent to staff of USMAI libraries with procedures for application. Interested staff members may apply by completing a preference form that prioritizes their interest in serving on particular task groups. A one page statement of interest should be attached to the preference form in which the individual discusses his or her reasons for applying to serve on the group(s) and describes the expected contribution.

Within the determined time period, additional task groups may be formed to address emerging issues. If the additional task group has an expected duration of longer than six months, an application process similar to the above should be initiated. If the duration of the group will be shorter than six months, a Roster of Experts in various topic areas will be available for use in creating short-term task groups. In doing so, the guiding principles for formation of group membership described above should be applied to the extent possible. A list of topics for which experts may be needed will be established by CLD and library directors or campus contacts will submit the names of staff members for inclusion on the roster. Libraries are not obligated to provide names for every list and may provide more than one name on a particular list if appropriate. Requests to serve will be copied to the library director and may be declined by the person or vetoed by the director if necessary.

The Chair of CLD should be responsible for reviewing task group membership over time to ensure that the overall composition goals are met. While it is intended that short-term task groups can be formed rapidly as needed, the Chair of CLD should be notified of any proposals for creating such groups to avoid possible overlap of group responsibilities.

Transition Team

The Committee had extensive discussions about whether the new structure should include a steering committee or coordinating group. On the one hand, it seems desirable to simplify the structure to the extent possible and to empower the task groups to make decisions and recommendations. It is also anticipated that the need for providing a cross functional view will be at least lessened, if not eliminated, by building in representation of different areas at the task group level. On the other hand, there is concern that things not be allowed to fall through the cracks, that ITD will continue to need a group that can be consulted when questions arise that do not clearly fall within the jurisdiction of a task group, and that a mechanism should exist to facilitate communication among groups. Taking these factors into account, the Committee recommends formation of a Transition Team that will take necessary steps to accomplish implementation of the new structure, and will work cooperatively with ITD and CLD to coordinate USMAI activities as appropriate. The Team should make an interim report to CLD after six months and a final report after one year. With the information provided and a year's experience with the task group structure, a more informed decision can then be made about whether a coordinating group should continue and, if so, what the role of that group should be.

Executive Council

The new Bylaws establish an Executive Council of which membership will be the current CLD Chair; the current CLD Vice Chair/Chair Elect; and three library directors selected by general election. The Director of ITD will serve as Ex Officio Member. The purpose of the Executive Council is to handle administrative matters within the strategic and policy framework set by the Council; to participate in searches for the Director of ITD; and to provide input to the Dean of Libraries of the University of Maryland for annual review purposes.

Council of Library Directors

Under the new Bylaws, the Council of Library Directors will manage the business and affairs of the Consortium. Council members include the current director of each member of the Consortium plus the following Ex Officio Members: a representative of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the University System of Maryland and the Director of ITD. Council members have the responsibility of representing their campus' and library's perspectives. Members serve as the primary representative of the campus to the Consortium and are responsible for communicating policy and technical decisions to their library staff and campuses.

Summary

The underlying goals of the proposal are to provide an effective structure for moving forward as a consortium; to ensure that all participating libraries have the opportunity to play active roles in consortial governance and program activities; and to provide a framework for sharing of information and facilitating cooperative projects that will increase the value of the consortium for all participants. The goal is not to decrease commitments to consortial activities; in fact, increased resource sharing, both for users and for staff members of the various libraries, would be desirable. This proposal simply reflects the idea that it is time to shift the focus to have a greater percentage of consortial activities carried out at the campus level.

Barbara Gontrum      Carlen Ruschoff
Ellie Hofstetter          Judy Sterling
Charles Lowry           Tom Wilson

Appendix I

Appendix II

Top of Page
USMAI | ITD | Metalib/sfx | Aleph

Information Technology Division College Park, MD 20742-7011
Please send comments and suggestions to ITD's Webmaster.
Content questions should be directed to USMAI Web Admin.

© 2004 University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions. Privacy policy