Summit Meeting of Library Directors, December 9, 1999

General Discussion

Synopsis

  1. Alphabet Soup in Illinois

    2. Many of the directors made reference to the existence of so many library groups in the state of Illinois. Most expressed some dismay at the proliferation of these groups. As the conversation progressed, though, others expressed the opinion that the existence of these groups was "healthy" and that it reflected well on library cooperation in the state. They felt confident that the truly redundant and inactive groups eventually disappeared leaving only those with unique missions and active membership.

    There were many calls for an authoritative document of some sort that would clearly outline each of the groups, their missions, their organizational structure, etc. One participant called for a statewide steering committee of the directors of these groups.

    Although one participant raised the possibility of merging the CCMP into another existing structure, nobody embraced that option. There appeared to be tacit support for the CCMP and its mission. Participants spoke of the consortium’s unique mission and its valuable history.

  2. eResources

The topic of eResources dominated the conversation despite some attempts to steer it in other directions. It is clear that the membership wants assistance with licensing of eResources. Several related issues were brought up:
      1. timing of subscriptions (try to meet the budget cycle needs of all participants). Have a "subscription time frame" in which all decisions are made so that nobody misses out on an opportunity.
      2. standard language for licenses and contracts
      3. need for archiving, perpetual access, statistics
      4. better dissemination of trial periods and subscription options needed
      5. need to be more aggressive in telling vendors what we want instead of passively responding to their offers. More tailoring of offers to specific library needs.

One participant did make the point that if we want the CCMP to focus much of its resources into becoming a clearinghouse for electronic resources then we would need a larger staff. All of the above cannot be done with one part-time director.
  1. Illinois Information Advantage and IDAL

Both Jean Wilkins of the state library and Tom Dorst of IDAL were able to offer brief status reports on these two projects. Tom Peters once again drew the "pyramid" of eResources model showing the IIA and IDAL at the base serving the widest band of the population; the CCMP and other similar consortiums in the middle of the pyramid; and individual institutions at the top. Since both of the larger projects are still seeking permanent funding and still in the planning and organizing phase, it seemed premature to some of the participants to build an information structure on such a sandy base.

The participants of the summit meeting were generally very positive about the experience. Several mentioned the need to pull this group together periodically since there is no other forum which brings all of these directors together to discuss these issues. A longer discussion would have been very beneficial.