Concept, Conversion, Cultivation, and Consequence

In an effort to change the librarian-faculty collaboration culture at Nicholls State University, librarians actively sought grant opportunities to make resources available to the university which would facilitate collaboration. Nicholls was able to secure grant funding for a collaborative multidisciplinary research workshop series to promote undergraduate research. The objective of this grant funded opportunity was to place the library in a central role in the enhancement and expansion of the university's research initiatives and partner with those disciplines that were traditionally self-contained. The technology and training made available to students through this initiative is important as it provides all students with access to foundational training and necessary technology to be competitive in academia and the workforce. Through these long-term partnerships forged with research focused disciplines, the library is now able to demonstrate its capacity to serve as an integral component of university research initiatives.

Building the “Bridge” between Two Liberal Arts College Libraries

The Bridge Consortium was formed in 2003/04 for the express purpose of sharing library materials between Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges more efficiently. The first step was the decision by the libraries to adopt a single shared library system. The success of this endeavor set the stage for a much deeper level of collaboration between the two institutions. A consortium governance structure was established, which included working groups to manage and develop shared operations in key functional areas. Through these working groups, policies and procedures were developed to guide Bridge Consortium work, and new initiatives were developed to broaden the scope of collaboration. Since then, the combined staffs of the Carleton and St. Olaf Libraries have expanded the range of resources available to faculty, staff and students on both campuses, improved search and retrieval of materials, and provided comparable user services and experiences.

The Portal to Texas History

The Portal to Texas History serves as a gateway to Texas history materials. The Portal consists of collections hosted by the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries in partnership and collaboration with over 280 Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, state agencies, corporations, and private family collections. With a continuously growing collection of over half a million digital resources, The Portal to Texas History stands as an example of a highly successful collaborative digital library which relies heavily on partnerships in order to function at the high level. The proposed book chapter will describe all aspects of establishing the collaborations to create the Portal including the background of the project, marketing the initiative to potential partners, partnership roles and agreements, funding issues and development, technical infrastructure to support partnership models, preservation of all digital master files, research studies to understand user groups and partner benefits, and sustainability issues.

Moving from Co-Location to Cooperation to Collaboration

Through collaboration with faculty and other campus partners, libraries have become centers of innovation in teaching and learning with technology. The authors, representing library, technology, and program staff from partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present a framework based on Joan Lippincott's definitions of co-location, cooperation and collaboration. Learn how to assess and develop your partnerships and how the diversity and adjacency of learning spaces, resources, services, and staff are redefining the library and the library's role within an academic institution.

Collaborative Weeding among Public University Libraries Can Lead to Cost Savings for All

All academic libraries strive to have the highest quality collections which their acquisition budgets can support. However, the cost of quality resources continues to regularly increase, typically without corresponding increases in acquisition budgets. Additionally, print resources come with associated storage costs which are less tangible to measure than acquisition costs but which nonetheless have impact on overall library operations and expenditures. Storage and retention costs can have a substantial negative impact on general library usage, relevancy, and budget allocations. This chapter will focus on the management of retaining and weeding print monographs within the medium-sized public academic library and what a group of Michigan public academic libraries are doing to collectively address weeding and retention issues through the preliminary phase of a program called the Michigan Shared Print Initiative (MI-SPI).

Collaborating to Create a Fashionable Event

The Adrian G. Marcuse Library at LIM College in New York City has successfully organized a three-day conference dedicated to the past, present, and future of fashion information since 2011. This chapter serves as a case study on how to successfully organize, collaborate, and promote a library-sponsored conference into a successful and institution-supported event. Incremental growth is crucial to the event's success and the author includes information on how to increase the number and diversity of collaborators each year. The chapter will discuss the opportunities and challenges of organizing similar events with collaborative partners. It will discuss the importance of maintaining the original vision of the conference, while also acknowledging the value of including other participants' new ideas. Recognizing the skills needed for organization of the event and then recruiting professionals with those skills are additional keys to success.

Librarian and Peer Research Mentor Partnerships that Promote Student Success

This chapter describes the evolution of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Manchester Research Mentor Program, a cross-campus collaboration that trains writing tutors to assist students with information literacy skills. The first half of the chapter documents the first iteration of the Research Mentor Program, describing the recruitment, training, tutoring activities, and evaluation of the writing tutors/research mentors; the integration of the research mentors in First-Year Writing classroom library instruction sessions and writing tutorials; and the results of a three-semester evaluation study of the program's effectiveness at teaching composition students the information skills they will need to develop as writers, researchers, and critical thinkers. The second half of the chapter describes the Research Mentor Program's transformation as librarians, learning center staff, and classroom instructors adapted the program's goals by integrating the vision of the Association of College and Research Libraries' Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education into their pedagogy.

Processes, Opportunities, and Challenges Creating and Managing a Scholarly Open Access Journal

A discussion and detailed understanding of the opportunities and challenges creating and managing a scholarly online open access journal lead to practical guidance for librarians who wish to become involved in this mode of scholarly communication. Academic libraries increasingly take the initiative, or are expected to take a leadership role, in advancing scholarly communication and promoting open access. As librarians understand opportunities available to the academy through scholarly open access journals, the library can position itself better to meet these growing expectations in higher education. The introduction profiles the growing emphasis in academic libraries on scholarly communication and open access then discusses the development of Collaborative Librarianship as an example. Matters related to building a team for a scholarly online journal, technical aspects of online journal publishing, and planning and managing content are also addressed. The conclusion identifies opportunities and challenges, and makes general recommendations.

The Evolution of Collaborative Collection Development within a Library Consortium

This chapter details a collection analysis project carried out within the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) consortium in 2013-2015. This project included an analysis of 12 member libraries' main stacks monographs – a total of just under six million volumes – and demonstrates the importance of relying on established cultural support as well as the challenges of cultural change involved in library collaboration. The project stands out from other similar collection analyses conducted by groups of libraries in its central focus on using the analysis to inform prospective, collaborative collection development.

A Statewide Collaborative Storage and Print Repository Model

As space pressures increase across college campuses, libraries are forced to make difficult decisions about their collections. The Florida Academic Repository (FLARE) is a centralized, collaborative storage facility managed by the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries for the twelve public Florida universities and the University of Miami. This project has been in planning since 2007, but began operating a medium-density storage facility for partners in 2012. Although full funding for a true high-density facility has not been received, significant strides and lessons have been learned through the process. Included in this chapter are examples of policies, equipment used, governance structure, and past and future projects.