Forging Ahead: Setting Priorities for the Information Alliance
Director Priorities - December 12, 2001

The following contains areas of initial priority for the Information Alliance to work on in the coming year or two based on the results of the November 12, 2001 planning retreat and an analysis by the three library directors. Certainly other continuing activities will take place and ideas generated by the retreat will be visited as time permits.

• Confirm institutional support for Information Alliance Activities (Library directors will take responsibility)
• Establish administrative coordinator of IA projects at each institution (in addition to rotating coordinator currently in place)
• Consider more prominent web presence of IA on member web pages.
• Determine rotation among institutions for updating IA web page regularly!
• Incorporate IA activities in planning documents (links on IA web page.), job descriptions, assignments, and orientation programs
• Keep track and ensure continuity of initiatives, assignments between the institutions

Digital Initiatives and Preservation

Identify contacts at each institution that will organize an effort to identify digital projects/initiatives currently underway at the three institutions. Initial goals are to identify training needs and begin to determine potential joint projects. Information gathered might include:

• Project information
• Goals
• Staff
• Preservation strategy for projects

  Contacts:
  Anthony Smith/ Bill Britten -UT
  Becky Ryder/ Eric Weig - UK
  Marshall Breeding/ Bill Hook - VU
  

Resource Sharing and ILL

Conduct a trial of Direct Request to measure extent of these problems and feasibility of implementing the service permanently. Encourage ASERL to further develop and promote Kudzu.

Shared Expertise

Update/enhance Alliance Web pages by May 2002 with the following steps:

1. January 2002 - Designate a Project Leader
2. January 2002 - Information Alliance Webmaster and Staff
   • Content - reporter from each member (liaison or designee.)
   • Design - representative from each member (update the "look" and do the database programming.)
   • Draft web page should be put up and comments should be solicited
3. March 2002- Update Contents
   • Missing meeting information (minutes, etc.)
   • Add Vanderbilt University information
   • Links update
4. February 2002 - Add New Information
   
   A. Data base of counter parts
   1. Data base planning- VU tech design
   2. Data base planning- database content design
   

   · G. Baker (UT)-Coord.
   · M. Johnson (UK)
   · Carpenter (VU)

   3. Document - February 2002
   4. Data base - May 2002
   

Staff Development

Set up (recommend) a standing l. A. Committee for training and development comprised of three people charged with staff development at each institution. Work with other groups, in particular, digital initiatives group, to identify 2002 training need. Work to implement a joint training opportunity.

Special Collections and Archives

Consider a joint digitizing project and funding possibilities based on results of the digital initiatives group survey. Continue learning about each institution's collection priorities and cooperate to build individual collection strengths when made aware of papers (i.e. UT collects political papers and Vanderbilt does not).

Web Projects, Portals, and Knowledge Management Capability

Determine a process to collaborate on developing and managing subject web pages.

• Develop list of "to do's" to make this happen:
• Get admin support and buy?in (Director, dept. heads, etc.)
• Determine "best practices"
• Build prototype for tools