IRIS Photos

IRIS Alignment with the CUL Goals and Objectives, 2002-2007

Highlights

Goal I: Build the knowledge base of print, digital, and other materials

1. Strengthen access to digital collections by reallocation of funds, privileging electronic over print, and innovative collaborations.
IRIS Responses:
  • Increase number of items identified for DRC funding. In FY2002/03, IRIS selectors identified over half of the items brought to DRC, including Digital Sanborn fire insurance maps--$60,000 (Greaves); Early Encounters in North America--$31,500 (Brumberg and Muratori); and China Core Newspaper Database-$23,250 (Hahn).
  • Fund e-resources from individual budget lines. Olin selectors increasingly fund e-resources out of their individual budget lines in preference to printed versions, including Black Drama, 1850 to present, which includes 1,200 plays of which 20% were previously unpublished--$32,500 (How)
  • Withdraw Uris back files of periodicals and cancel duplicate subscriptions to apply savings to additional digital subscriptions (Heidig)
  • Subscribe to non-commercial e-journals. In FY 2002/03, subscribed to two full text journal databases (economics and law) that are alternatives to commercial e-journal publishers (Harris in collaboration with Law Library)
  • Urge American Musicological Society Board to include their distinguished journal in the first list of JSTOR music journals (Coral)
  • Develop geospatial data collection to complement the paper map collection (Maps)

2. Expand and foster partnerships with the faculty to enhance access to scholarly information and to ensure the long-term preservation of that material.
IRIS Responses:
  • Submit new NRC grant applications to support East Asia, Latin America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia as well as a new proposal for an undergraduate Title VI center in European Studies (which would include Eastern Europe and the FSU) (WAC).
  • Secure departmental support for digital resources, e.g., Classics Department supported the 5-year subscription to TLG online. CUL one of only 5 libraries represented in RLIN and OCLC with on-line access to TLG (Szekely)
  • Participate in collaborative digital partnerships: The East Coast Consortium for Slavic Collections successfully negotiated discounted prices for several digital resources (Wawro); Middle Eastern Librarians have established Project OACIS (Online Access to Consolidated Information on Serials), funded by a DOE Title VI grant (Ali Houissa)
  • Couple digitization initiatives with artifact conservation (Preservation and Collection Maintenance)
  • Participate in Political Communications Web Archiving Project, a collaborative effort with CRL, three other universities, the Internet Archive, and LC to focus on long-term preservation concerns for Web resources (McGovern, Reidy)
3. Digitize library holdings
IRIS Responses:
  • Use cross-departmental selection teams to identify materials (and resources) for digitization, including the Willard Straight Papers (Wason) and Images of Southeast Asia (Echols). Work with D-CAPS to develop future projects, such as the Willard Straight Takeover Photographs (Africana).
4. Use evaluative tools to analyze and measure strengths and costs associated with various collections.
IRIS Responses:
  • Codify procedures for accepting large collections into the system (CCSS)
  • Build partnership with MOA users to enhance the collection and assess means to reduce the extensive reference support (Reference Services)

Goal II: Provide digital ‘life-cycle’ production services.

1. Establish and maintain central depository system.
IRIS Responses:
  • Appoint Cornell’s first Digital Preservation Officer (DPO), who is responsible for developing the comprehensive policy framework for the central depository system (IRIS admin)
  • Participant in national and international initiatives to develop digital preservation guidelines and models (DPO, AUL IRIS)
  • Develop preservation risk management approach for Web resources (Research)

2. Establish and operate digitization service.
IRIS Responses:
  • Provide space for digitization service (Reference Services)
  • Continue to enhance digitization capabilities for inter-library lending (ILS)
  • Extend capture of streaming sound files for reserve listening system (Music)
  • Establish materials handling procedures for artifacts to be scanned (PCM)
3. Establish and operate metadata service.
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate in the development of metadata schema and implementation planning as it pertains to digital preservation (DPO)
4. Establish and operate copyright service.
IRIS Responses:
  • Collaborate with Copyright Service to establish policies at key service points, e.g., circulation and ILS (Access Services, ILS, Resources & Planning)
5. Instruct in use of available resources and tools facilitating aggregation and organization of information and images.
IRIS Responses:
  • Build and enhance high-end computing capabilities through the newly re-located Creation Station Lab
  • Extend teaching capabilities throughout IRIS, e.g., FAL/ Knight Visual Resources collaboration, Africana Library networked classroom investigation
  • Monitor and assess new software for aggregating and organizing information and images, e.g., Hyperfolio presentation (Research)
  • Develop proposal to D-CAPS for designing user-entered environments for digitized products (Reference Services)
6. Work with the university to establish a program to archive the university’s electronic records.
IRIS Responses:
  • DPO is member of electronic records working group to address preservation concerns for university records.
Goal III: Support electronic publishing, scholarly communication, and creative expression.
1. Operate an electronic publishing program…
IRIS Responses:
  • Publish electronic journals related to the curriculum and library profession, e.g., RLG DigiNews (Research) and Fron, a proposed journal on Scandinavian medieval history and culture (Sayers in collaboration with Stevens)
2. Build a discipline-based repository or repositories…
IRIS Responses:
  • DPO participates in developing preservation strategies for such repositories
3. Conduct a campus education program to increase awareness of issues relating to scholarly communication.
IRIS Responses:
  • Meet with academic departments to present Library’s perspective on the crisis in scholarly communication (CCSS, WAC)
  • Work through international group of music librarians to keep electronic subscriptions from increasing (Coral)
4. Support innovative approaches to teaching, research, and creation, making the Library a site for exploration and experimentation.
IRIS Responses:
  • Expand online tutorials, streaming video, webliographies, and FAQs to instruct users in services and resources (Instruction Preservation, Research, Reference Services, WAC)
  • Collaborate with other CU entities to enhance teaching, research, and creation (Reference Services, Instruction, Research, FAL, Africana)
  • Upgrade and expand the Creation Station Lab (Reference Services, Instruction)
  • Rethink the Electronic Text Center (Reference Services, Instruction)
5. Selectively support Web authoring and electronic distribution and maintenance of information and image sources having broad education use of unique value through collaborative endeavors.
IRIS Responses:
  • Provide training in essential technologies for web authoring and content creation, e.g., Endnote (Reference Services)
Goal IV: Support more effective organization and presentation of information for diverse audiences.
1. Implement… Encompass.
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate in Encompass Working Groups (all)
  • Support development of non-Roman script presentation capabilities (Asia Collections)
2. Make resources and services more visible and easier to find.
IRIS Responses:
  • Create Information Service Point at the Olin Circulation Desk (Reference and Access Services)
  • Appoint Web Librarian who directs the Gateway Redesign Group (Reference Services)
  • Establish Design Group (IRIS admin)
  • Establish Sign Committee (Resources & Planning)
  • Upgrade/create Web sites to enhance discovery and use of library resources and services (Africana, Research, Wason, and others in 2003)
  • Develop on-line library of CUL-related images, Web site templates, and Power Point templates to facilitate creation of Web sites, professional presentations, and displays (Design Group).
  • Work to improve functionality of the Epixtech software to make Borrow Direct more user friendly (ILS)
3. Pursue seamless linking between e-resources.
IRIS Responses:
  • No response yet, but willing to participate
4. Develop customized views and services for specific audiences, units, disciplines, and genres
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate heavily in development of MyLibrary (Reference Services)
  • Create faculty gateway that features library services and policies (Reference Services and Access Services)
5. Integrate CUL library sources, products and services into the CU information landscape.
IRIS Responses:
  • Upgrade CUL information on the CU Portal (Web Librarian)
  • Co-host Instruction Technologies for Teaching and Learning Expo (Reference Services)
6. Develop enhanced services in support of social science and geospatial data.
IRIS Responses:
  • Develop geospatial and statistical data services and collection within IRIS to support the social sciences and humanities (Maps)
Goal V: Provide expert assistance, instruction, and an innovative suite of user services
1. Continue to build a distributed learning program supporting technology-based education
IRIS Responses: 2. Expand document delivery capabilities
IRIS Responses:
  • Implement and monitor Borrow Direct, explore possibility of expanding to include non-returnables (ILS, Access Services)
  • Conduct CUL Document Delivery pilot that will expand to all CUL in summer 2003 (Access Services)
  • Develop Annex procedure information online to aid library staff in retrieving material for patrons
  • Push documents, files, and images to users via Chat software (Reference Services)
3. Emphasize role of librarians as consultants in instructional and research programs of the University
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish Instruction Department, which will extend information literacy program and collaborative teaching with faculty (Instruction)
  • Support librarians teaching for-credit courses (Music, Asia, Instruction)
  • Establish Research Department, which conducts applied research benefiting the Library, the profession, and the University (Research)
  • Expand technology-mediated instruction (Instruction, Reference)
  • Consult with faculty on digital and collection-building projects, e.g., aerial photograph conversion project with the Institute for Resource Information Systems (Maps)
4. Expand services in support of multimedia collections and production
IRIS Responses:
  • Assess Uris Media Center, classrooms, and services (IRIS Admin, Instruction, Access Services, Resources & Planning)
  • Upgrade and expand the Creation Station Lab (Reference and Instruction)
  • Participate in Multimedia Implementation Team (DPO)
5. Implement a system-wide chat reference service.
IRIS Responses:
  • Extend hours of coverage and partnerships with other campus libraries (Reference Services and Mann Library)
6. Expand continuing education programs.
IRIS Responses:
  • Secure funding to support the development of a continuing education program in digital librarianship (Instruction, Research)
  • Develop digital preservation workshop series (Research)
7. Explore and develop 24/7 collaborative services.
IRIS Responses:
  • Maintain chat reference service program established with UW, which offers system-wide coverage from 10am to midnight M-F. Extend hours of coverage and partnerships with other campus libraries (Reference Services)
  • Participate in OCLC QuestionPoint email reference; monitor development of OCLC chat ref capabilities via QuestionPoint (Reference Services)
8. Implement software that supports push technologies so that users can get the information when and where they need it.
IRIS Responses:
  • Expand distribution of streamed sound reserves (Music)
  • Push documents, files, and images to users via Chat software (Reference Services)
9. Support the creation of online versions of exhibitions.
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish New and Noteworthy Books Website to complement physical collection and highlight exhibits (Committee on Cultural Events)
  • Assess online information resources for the cultural events initiative, including exhibits in the gallery (Committee on Cultural Events)
Goal VI: Create and maintain a physical environment that fosters learning and research…
1. Agree on minimum standards and phase-in an implementation program to ensure all libraries provide a safe environment for both individuals and materials.
IRIS Responses:
  • Monitor temperature and relative humidity to provide data for planning new facilities (PCM)
2. Construct a second high-density storage module.
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate in MAS 2010 planning effort
3. Phase in renovations in Olin and Uris libraries.
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate in Olin/Uris Renovation Committee
  • Upgrade/renovate Olin first floor: reference desk, circulation desk top to incorporate Information Services point; improve signs; create gallery space in Olin/Kroch alley, reassess space outside Libe Café; upgrade, rename, and relocate 14 Day Books
  • Create processing and storage facilities for Kroch Asia; move circulating Icelandic collection to Olin to free up processing space; move 60,000 volumes to the Annex to free up shelf space
  • Establish on-going program to move materials from Olin and Uris to the Annex (PCM, CCSS, Resources & Planning, Access Services)
4. Identify appropriate benchmarks for technological infrastructure needed to support multiple, and even unexpected, uses and provide resources to ensure that this level is available in all libraries.
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish IT support team for IRIS (Resources & Planning)
5. Create flexible spaces that by their size, furnishings, and orientation encourage exploration, innovation, and customization in all modes of information exchange, including individual, collaborative, and classroom.
IRIS Responses:
  • Submit FABIT proposal to develop technical infrastructure in Kirby Room to create flexible space for technology exploration, teaching, creation, aggregation and organization of multi-media resources.
6. Conduct feasibility studies for unit libraries as appropriate.
IRIS Responses:
  • Participate in building expansion project for Africana Center
  • Upgrade FAL with new carpet, furniture, shelving, and computers, and wireless
Goal VII: Foster an organizational culture that is agile, resilient and flexible, embraces change and encourages teamwork.
1. Cultivate leadership skills that are focused and humane and that place a premium on cooperation across administrative lines.
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish multiple communication channels, e.g., IRIS web site (Design Group) and monthly IRIS News & Notes (AUL IRIS)
  • Promote participation in leadership and supervisory training for IRIS managers (Kenney and Block participated in the Leadership Training Program in 2002)
  • Seek outside assistance for IRIS transition (e.g., Joe Branin, Chet Warzinski, Linda Bryant, Susan Markowitz)
  • Develop team-based working groups that cut across departmental lines, see www.library.cornell.edu/iris/committees.html
  • Extend individual staff responsibilities across departmental lines, e.g., collection development and reference; collection development and CTS; instruction and reference; DPO and DLIT
  • Continue and expand IRIS participation in CUL committees and teams
2. Identify the skills and resources needed for library innovation and develop new competencies by retraining and recruiting.
IRIS Responses:
  • Assess skills and resources in key areas through staff skills and interest inventory (IRIS Transition Team); assessments, e.g., Google Answers study (Research); and surveys, e.g., IRIS Web Needs Assessment Survey. (Design Group)
  • Identify core competency requirements for IT staff, see (Resources & Planning)
  • Train staff for new roles
  • IT support staff—core competency requirements (Resources and Planning)
  • Circulation staff to accommodate the Information Service Point (Reference Services)
  • Cross training in Preservation and Collection Maintenance, FAL staff to be trained by RMC staff to identify rare materials for transfer and possible digitization
  • Voyager training in Acquisitions, Cataloging, and Circulation modules as they relate to collection development work (CCSS).
  • Require technology competencies in new recruitments (e.g., reference assistant)
  • Codify policies and procedures and publicize them on IRIS Web site
  • Develop Reference/Circulation Information Index used for coordinating information services (Access Services/Reference Services)
3. Cultivate an understanding of CUL’s goals and objectives and encourage staff participation in meeting these goals.
IRIS Responses:
  • Assess current efforts and future plans against the CUL Goals and Objectives Document (all IRIS departments).
  • Conduct overall assessment annually (IRIS Cabinet).
4. Link performance evaluation system to achievements of master plan.
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish IRIS Performance Expectations and Evaluation Guidelines for professional staff that incorporate master plan objectives (IRIS Cabinet)
  • Develop Terms of Reference and annual performance review that tie performance to achieving these goals (IRIS supervisors)
5. Devise a more-flexible reward system that recognizes both individual and team achievements.
IRIS Responses:
  • Secure input in annual performance review for those staff with responsibilities beyond one unit or department, e.g., there are 20 individuals who select for Olin and Unit, spread across 5 departments (IRIS supervisors)
  • Develop IRIS travel support policies to encourage professional growth and participation (Resources and Planning)
6. Revise CUL’s organizational and committee structure to enhance effectiveness and to broaden participation.
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish Director of Resources and Planning to coordinate and assess core resources across IRIS—finances, space, technology, staffing (IRIS Admin)
  • Establish IRIS Cabinet, Management Team, and IRIS-wide Planning Committee (IRIS AUL)
  • Enhance roles and responsibilities of CUL standing committees, e.g., PSEC (IRIS AUL)
Goal VIII: Secure the resources to meet CUL’s goals and objectives
1. Review current activities and expenditures to enhance efficiencies and realign resources with new priorities
IRIS Responses:
  • Provide centralized support for core resources, including finance, technology, space, and staffing (Resources and Planning)
  • Establish Web Librarian position with existing resources (IRIS Admin, Reference Services)
  • Extend Olin Library evening hours to midnight with existing resources
  • Institute Borrow Direct with existing resources (ILS)
  • Conduct cost studies, e.g., to support new document delivery program (Access Services), ARL cost study on ILS (ILS and Mann), refine and continue Annex operations cost study in order to analyze and measure strength and costs associated with collection building off central campus (Access Services)
  • Establish new departments to consolidate operations and extend coordination: Preservation and Collection Maintenance (PCM), Collections Coordination and Support Services (CCSS)
  • Absorb collection development responsibilities for non-US history selection when Brumberg retired (Reference, CCSS, RMC)
  • Include 856 note for streamed sound files, thus reducing work of TAs and staff in providing this service (Music)
  • Conduct convenient business hours study to determine how best to leverage existing resources to meet user needs
2. Determine the magnitude of the need—both one-time and ongoing—and establish a time frame for addressing it.3. Increase donor and external grant funding.
IRIS Responses:
  • Secured grant funding exceeding $1.1 M in 2002
  • $230,167, NEH Digital Preservation Workshop (Research)
  • $281,449, IMLS to conduct a two-year project, entitled "Images of Southeast Asia." (Echols)
  • $170,000, Ford Foundation support for Hermetic Sealing Project (Preservation and Collection Maintenance)
  • $103,600 Mellon Foundation for Political Communications Web Archiving Project (Research, Echols)
  • $126,000 NYS Aid for Preservation (Preservation)
  • $18,413 of Cooperative NYS funds for the second year of the Technician Training Program (Preservation)
  • $10,332, South Asia
  • $10,332, South Asia NRC Match
  • $42,500, East Asia Program NRC
  • $25,000, Freeman Foundation
  • $31,200, Southeast Asia Program
  • $61,508, Southeast Asia Program NRC
4. Seek University financial support for selected new initiatives and building renovations.5. Establish a network of strategic partnerships to generate additional resources and share in the development and long-term maintenance of new services.
IRIS Responses:
  • Continue contract with RLG to produce RLG DigiNews
  • Continue collaboration with Faculty of Information and Computing in digital preservation research realm
  • Participate in the Alumni Access reference service (Reference Services)
  • Enhance NYS preservation partnerships through the Big 11 program (PCM)
  • Serve on steering committee of the OCLC Digital Preservation Cooperative (DPO)
6. Establish fee-based and cost-recovery mechanisms based on business plans and market assessments to support new services
IRIS Responses:
  • Serve on Planning Committee for MAS 2010 (Director of Resources & Planning) and chair 3 working groups (AUL, Director of Preservation, Director of Research)
  • Develop proposals to support the establishment of CUL Continuing Education Program in Digital Librarianship, which will ultimately be cost-recovery operation (Instruction)
Goal IX: Effectively market the library’s products and services, and expand outreach to new and underrepresented constituencies.
1. Conduct a needs assessment to understand our users and their needs and integrate the findings into annual planning process.
IRIS Responses:
  • Continue user analysis processes, e.g., LIBQUAL, laptop survey, Library Hours survey
2. Expand the number of programs, events, and exhibitions…and other library-related cultural activities
IRIS Responses:
  • Establish Committee on Cultural Events to increase program, events, and exhibitions in Olin
  • Curate “Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time” in Kroch (Coral)
  • Launch Newsletter to Arts and Humanities faculty and graduate students on resources, services, and uses of library (Research, with input from other units)
3. Enhance user recognition of the Library as a virtual presence by “branding” the licensed resources and the digital collections made available.
IRIS Responses:
  • Create and use CUL logo for resources on the gateway
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