Forty-six representatives of the UK and UTK Libraries attended the third semiannual meeting of the Information Alliance. Cumberland Falls State Park provided a relaxed, scenic atmosphere for lively group discussions and individual conversations. This meeting included a number of librarians who have participated in Alliance events since its inception in 1993 along with some new participants from each institution. A comfortable camaraderie continues to develop between UTK and UK librarians as evidenced by the pleasant informality of the reports and discussions in the group.
The agenda began with remarks and library updates from Paula Kaufman and Paul Willis followed by a series of reports of Alliance activities. A brief summary follows:
CLR Grant/Institutes: Linda Phillips reported that the Council on Library Resources has tentatively approved the Alliance grant proposal to hold two institutes for UTK and UK librarians on science/technology information and library leadership issues for the next century. CLR will fund speakers and facilitators for these institutes. A planning group composed of Linda, Gail Kennedy, Flora Shrode, Mary McLaren, Lori Goetsch, and Maggie Johnson will be designing the institutes over the next few months.
Staff Development Trip: Jill Keally and Gail Kennedy reported that a very successful first joint staff development trip to Univ. of Illinois and Indiana University was held in May. Although we will not be doing a large-scale joint trip in '96, there are possible opportunities for a short trip or joint participation in a conference or workshop.
Collection Development Activities: Diane Perushek, Bonnie Cox, and Sandra Leech reported on a number of developments in the area of collection development. A group of subject specialists’ counterparts met at Lake Cumberland in early November and discussed a number of possibilities in the area of cooperative collection building. A draft set of objectives for joint efforts in collection management and development has been developed.
Arabic Collections: UK is engaged in a special project to catalog its entire Arabic collection. After a review of its collection, UTK has given several hundred volumes of Arabic language materials to UK.
Library Roles Research Project: UTK and UK librarians are participating in a research project being conducted by Dr. Thomas J. Waldhart of the UK School of Library and Information Science. The project is a study of the roles of university libraries, as perceived by the professional staff of the libraries.
Agriculture Cooperation: Toni Powell reported on a variety of areas of common interest and involvement shared by the agriculture libraries at UK and UTK.
After a luncheon in DuPont Lodge, the participants engaged in a plenary discussion on the topic, "What are our jobs going to be in the next five years?" Sharon Miller of the UK Community College System facilitated the discussion.
The last part of the meeting was devoted to brainstorming "Ideas for Action, 95/96." Small groups with common interests developed ideas that were then brought to the large group where persons responsible and time frame were identified. (See 1995/96 Actions Items List for details.)
The meeting concluded with a meeting review in which participants enumerated both positive aspects of the event and areas for improvement. Positives noted were nice site/good location, good agenda, good participation, group focused, and the synergy of "cross pollination." Areas for improvement are better meeting room (acoustics, chairs), more efficiently served lunch, and getting counterparts together earlier in the day.
The next Alliance meeting will be held April 15, 1996 and hosted by UTK.